HEART: Times Past
by pokemastercube
Summary: A few months have past since the battle against Demal which lead to Holly's death. The girls have tried to move on in life, but for Rachel her mysterious past catches up with her as strange things happen around the city and there is also something going on with Janet.
1. Chapter 1: Keeping On

**Chapter 1: Keeping On**

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><p>The one on the ground ran into the tree line, ducking behind one of the trees to take cover as under the light-weight armour that they wore they pulled out a short rod. They then twisted it which extended it to a bo staff that was nearly as long as they were tall. They peaked out and around the tree to see where those that had been following were.<p>

Their attention was then drawn to a bright red glow behind them, turning their head to look they saw a fireball coming right at them, in response they rolled over to one side as the shot hit the ground sending out a flash of red as the fire was extinguished. During the flash the one on the ground could be seen a little better, she was a tall girl, a bark-like skin, her purple eyes were faint in the light, as was her green vine-like hair. She surveyed the sky where the shot came from to see if who she was being chased by were there.

Silence. Nothing could be seen. She slowly stood up, twirling her weapon a couple of times in one hand as she kept watch around her for any other attacks. Then it came, a strong gust of wind that was far stronger then should happen in the tree's. She resisted the gust for a couple of seconds before she was thrown back a short distance into a tree, dropping her weapon as it got thrown to one aside while she fell down into the snow around the base of the tree.

"Janet you fool" She muttered to herself as she got up slowly. "Stood in one spot for too long." She quickly looked around, spotting the faint red glow from the person who was giving it off. She glanced more to find her weapon, spotting it she ran for it, then from above the tree moved, a branch reached down and grabbed her bo staff before she got to it and raised it high up to the tree tops. She looked up a little frustrated then one of the roots from that tree moved up from the ground, the sounds of something moving got her attention, and as she looked around she root slammed into her throwing her back into the snow again.

As she looked up again she saw another fireball coming her way, she rolled sideways allowing it to pass her and hit the snow. She got back on her feet again as another strong gust of wind hit, this time it circled around blowing the snow up around her. As she shielded her eyes she spotted one of the shadows in the tree's above her. She ran between a pair of trees that were close together and started to leap up them by kicking off each of them, and then grabbing onto a large branch, swinging onto another branch, then quickly climbing and jumping to get up to the top of the tree, above the shadow she had gone after. She quietly positioned herself above it, the snow storm the gust of wind created making it hard to see the ground, she then leaped at the shadowy figure, grabbing on as they fell into the snow-covered ground below.

The person that was forced into the ground quickly recovered and on their back a set of small wings flapped into life, but before they could go far Janet shot up and grabbed a leg pulling them back down while the gust of wind that had created the snow storm like environment around her disappeared.

"Behind" A high-pitched voice called. Janet looked around and saw the glow of a fireball coming at her. She pulled on the one she was holding the leg of hard, pulling them down and then she used them as a shield as the fireball hit them in the back. The person screamed as Janet let them drop to the ground as she looked around, not seeing anyone who could have spoken to her, only thing she could see was a Raven sitting in one of the trees watching.

She glanced around more to see if someone was there again, but immediately saw one of the remaining two shadows that were after her. She leapt against the tree like before, going upwards as the shadow came in fast, swooping low, then as they were passing by the tree she was jumping up, she leapt against towards it, kicking off the side and she landed on the back of her target taking that one down to the ground. As she recovered and looked up she could see the glowing figure in the distance, then the head of the one she just brought down raised, aiming their hard towards Janet, she saw the mouth open up, immediately she flipped around, grabbing the person from behind as they made a high-pitched screech, Janet aimed them at the final target who then seemed to drop to the ground. Janet released the one she had and stood up once the screech stopped.

"Hungry now" The same voice from before spoke, leaving Janet a little confused as she went up to the tree her weapon was in, giving it a kick as the grip around her weapons was no longer there, the force of the kick shook the tree and her weapon fell. She caught it and twisted it again, retracting it to its original length.

"Seriously did you have to use me to take that shot" The first one spoke as they wondered up while Janet wondered out of the trees into the clearer space that the ruins provided and up to a pile of 4 backpacks and took out a tennis-ball sized object, wacked it against one of her hands which made it light up in a strong light that allowed her to see clearly. She then held it slightly above her and let go, the object hovering in place. Janet then started to remove the thin but strong back armour she was wearing while the one that had spoken came close enough to be seen. She looked similar to Janet in physical appearance but with the wings which were black framed in segments of a pale green. This one also had pale blue and pale green stripped leggings, a teal crop top with ribbons that gently wrapped around her arms ending in a wristband, a loose pink mini skirt that and calf high purple boots with straps.

"Come on Amy, not like I had much other options" Janet giggled a little as she finished removing her armour and started pulling out some thick clothes and started putting them on over a black bodysuit she wore under the armour. "So not going to say that your big sister is getting better?"

"Ha" Amy laughed a little. "Just be happy I didn't go physical on you."

"Try being the one hit by Emma's screech" The one that glowed commented as she wondered in, rubbing her ears. She had plated charcoal black skin red lines around the edges, orange hair that ended in yellow tips and where her eyes would be she had a pair of glowing yellow marks that she was able to see though. She also had the same wings and leggings Amy had along with a pink poncho with one sleeve on her left arm, a teal skirt that from that came down to her knees on the side and was mini length on the front and back and dark purple over-knee boots that had a strap and buckle around her ankle.

"Well I said sorry Rachel" The final one said as she sighed as she walked over with the Raven flying around her. This one has dark-ish white human skin, black curly hair and brown eyes. She had wings extend from her arms by the wrists that was the same length as her arms and covered in dark read feathers in addition to having tail feathers, while she had talons for feet. She also had a deep yellow short beak and pair of thin black antenna. She wore a pink tank top and teal knee-length shorts that her tail poked out the back of. Her feet were wrapped in a dark purple material that let her talons poke out the ends of along with the same leggings and wings on her back like the other 2 had.

"Just shows how well we have trained Janet then" Rachel smiled a little as she held a hand out and a small pink orb with a metal frame attacked to a necklace appeared out of the hand.

"Still, me screaming wasn't the best idea" Emma sighed more. As then a pink energy wave passed of her, Rachel and Amy, changing them to become slightly shorter, and with Emma her antenna disappeared leaving a pair of black dots on her forehead while her beak became a short stub that was started to form with her nose merging in. In addition all 3 of them had lost the wings on the back and the outfits they had one and were in clothing for keeping warm in while in the cold, with space for Emma's wings to still be used and Rachel in thicker clothing then the others.

"Well least next time Oracle wants us least four of us are ready" Amy commented as they all grabbed their bags and stated to walk off towards light of a city in the distance, Raven landing on Emma's head.

"What happened to five then?" A familiar almost metallic female voice spoke to them.

They all turned to see who it was as the person emerged from the shadows. They were a bit taller than Janet with red metallic skin with silver panels and black dreadlocks for hair.

"Well that would be due to Terri not taking the death well" Emma sighed a little.

"Been a couple of earth months now" The new person replied as she joined them on the walk.

"Even then Undia, the pair of them were close, cant lessen the blow" Janet sighed a little as they kept going, entering a large city.

"So what brings you to earth then?" Amy spoke up after a bit. "Someone needing some beating then?"

"And there you go again Amy" Janet teased her sister a bit.

"What, why else would she be here?" Amy stuck her green tongue out.

"Ignore her" Rachel shrugged to Undia.

"Well she is sorta right" Undia explained. "I was sent here to track down a Lurden that got off Meridian after it stole a fold orb and a couple of other magic items."

"Which one are they again?" Emma asked.

"The person-sized gray-ish monsters." Rachel explained. "Normally living under the surface of Meridian tho."

"They have been for years" Undia added. "They are creatures easily controlled by dark magic, and because of that they are monitored. But the last few days they have been acting up and earlier today a group broke into a part of the infinite city that stores a lot of relics of the past and got away with a few items. We managed to track where they went, but when we attacked, one of them opened a fold and got though. Took hours to track what world they are on."

"Well our job to help I guess" Emma nodded happily.

"Depends, no orders from Oracle for you to help me and you all have your daily lives to lead, so go on as normal and just keep an eye out" Undia smiled to them as she then looked around before settling on a direction to wonder off in, giving a wave as she left.

"Well you best find it first or I'll have given it all the beating" Amy called out.

"So see you both tomorrow then?" Janet asked.

"I got shopping before that party mum is taking me to" Rachel sighed. "Have to dress up smart, nice..."

"Still seams weird with you calling Sophie your mum" Emma laughed a little. "I know the adoption made her your mother in legal terms, but still."

"I am adopted too" The voice Janet heard before came again.

"You hear that?" Janet asked as she looked around.

"Hear what?" Amy asked as they all looked at Janet.

"The voice that said I am adopted too." She replied.

"Nothing was said, only thing was Raven calling out, think he is hungry" Emma spoke as she gave Raven a rub on his belly.

"I am certain I heard someone else" Janet pleaded to them.

"Regardless it started to get late, see you all later" Rachel waved as she headed off.

"I better get home too to feed him" Emma shrugged as she gave Raven a stroke on his head before he took flight and she stretched out her arm wings and flapped away and both of them took off.

"Come on sis, you believe me right?" Janet asked but Amy was just silent as the pair of them made their way home.

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><p>Rachel wondered into a small bungalow on a quiet estate on the outskirts of the city. Upon entering she was in a central room with lounge and kitchen all in one. She took off some thick layers that she had to keep warm and changed her footwear from boots to slippers, leaving her still in thick trousers and jumper over a thick top underneath.<p>

"Mum, I'm back" She called out as she got a drink and a straw while neatening up her medium length hair.

After a few moments a tall well built female of a different species to Rachel wondered in. She has medium length dark green hair and matching reptilian-like eyes. She also had a long tail, spikes down her back and the tail and on the forehead along with claws instead of nails. She was completely covered in brown scales while wearing some dark trousers and a shirt along with her own slippers. She smiled when she saw Rachel. "Hey, training go well then?" She asked as they had a hug.

"Yea, Janet is coming on well in her combat abilities, that armour you got is handy" Rachel smiled to her as she sat down on a stool under a counter in the kitchen area.

"And the rest of you?" She added as she herself took out a salad from the fridge and sat opposite from Rachel to eat.

"Getting Amy to use her powers over fists can be a challenge at times while Emma you would never have thought she had a fear of flying before all of this" Rachel smiled as she got herself some meat, put it on a plate, and when she sat down she activated a holo screen next to her and the plate then warmed up cooking her food.

"Still no Terri around then?" Sophie sighed a little.

"No. We last see her at school, but she will avoid us and so hasn't been at practice, and now it holiday's none of us have seen her" Rachel sighed as she replied before stopping the cooking of her food and grabbed a knife and fork to eat it. "Oh, by the way, any strange reports come in over the last few days?"

"What do you mean by strange?" Sophie asked a little puzzled.

"Got told of a Lurden loose that is here on earth today" Rachel replied. "Can't exactly let something like that have free roaming over the city."

"True. I remember being taught about them in planetary studies" Sophie smiled a little. "But nothing has come in which would suggest a Lurden is around, but I will keep an eye and ear open."

"Thanks. And do I have to go tomorrow night?" Rachel then almost seemed like she was moaning.

"While you don't have to be there, I would like you to come and it will be good for you to try and have a normal life to fall back on to get a bit of a break from your magical one" Sophie smiled to Rachel, who just sighed and nodded.

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> So back, and there are plenty of things to come, just hope I can get what is in my mind across for this, but enjoy


	2. Chapter 2: Comming Events

**Chapter 2: Coming Events**

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><p>The next day brought sunshine over the snow-covered city and forest area to the north west. Within a clearing both Amy and Janet were doing their thing. Amy was spending her time practicing some of her fighting moves while Janet was sitting in the snow up against a tree drawing on a holo screen with a stylus.<p>

"Hello" Janet spoke as a large dog ran around the tree's and jumped on her. She gave it a rub and checked the collar as she thought she recognised it, and it was one that she knew. "You got to stay at your owners place next door out ours, can't just run away the whole time." She softly spoke to it.

"Owner gone" A sort of ruff female voice came that was a little panicked. Janet looked around with surprise as she tried to work out where it came from. "Strange female came, took owner."

"Who is there?" Janet called out as she put the dog onto the ground and stood up getting her sisters attention. "Show yourself!"

"Sis?" Amy asked rather confused. "What is going on?"

"Didn't you hear someone called out?" Janet asked.

"There is no one here but us and Freddie it looks like" Amy replied having spotted the dog.

"There was someone else calling out" Janet protested.

"And as I said, there is no-one else here" Amy yelled back.

"Get owner back" The voice then spoke.

"There it goes again" Janet called. "Who is talking to me!" She then called openly.

"Me" The voice replied. Janet looked around trying to find who and then the voice spoke again. "Down here."

She looked down while Amy looked at her confused. "This is impossible" Janet spoke as she looked at Freddie. "You can't talk."

"Please get owner back from bad person" Was the reply.

"Sis what did you just hear?" Janet asked as she quickly looked at her sister.

"Only a dog wining and you" Amy's reply sounded along the lines that she was only giving what should be known.

"Then...I...I" Janet stumbled to speak as she stood up and took a few steps aside as she tried to calm herself. "I can hear animals speaking." She then looked straight at her sister as she fell onto her knees. "What is happening to me?"

Amy just stared on as Freddie sat to onside still looking upset. She didn't know what to say or do, her face was just in shock and confusion.

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><p>In the skies above the mountains on the edge of the city various birds and flying species flew around, amongst them Emma soared as she made her way back to one of the peaks with Raven flying alongside her. As they flew at a lower level to the others flying around she saw a strange flash at a tree line that she was familiar with from her days of not flying.<p>

"Raven, down" She instructed to her trusted bird which gave a call back before they both dived down, swooping over the tree line before she landed in a field next to the trees and Raven circled her and landed on her head.

She carefully wondered up towards the trees, keeping low and as silent as possible, hearing a voice inside the trees, but not clearly enough to understand anything that was being said. She offered her hand up to her head to which Raven jumped to before she brought him down to whisper to. "Go round the other side and then meet me in there." Raven gave a little nod before flying off her hand and round behind the trees while she counted in her head.

She only got to 7 when another flash of light happened and the voice went silent. She decided to not finish counting and charged into the bushes surrounding the woods. Pushing through them and then into an open space with the trees providing cover above. The shaded area was completely empty apart from her and Raven as he flew in and perched on a tree branch above.

"What happened here?" She asked as she squatted down, seeing there was red staining on the dry mud ground, the trees having sheltered the area from the snow. There was a strange shaped void in the stain, she put her hand down into the red and pulled her fingers up, now having a red and slightly warm liquid on the ends of her fingers. "Eww, this is nasty." She spoke as she wiped them off on the ground while Raven came down from above and landed next to her as he looked on. She reached an arm round behind her, avoiding hitting herself with a tucked back wing and from a small bag on her back she pulled out a small tile and when she had it before her she tapped it with her free hand and a holographic display activated.

She went through a series of menus, eventually accessing a scanner, she then held the tile over the red substance and a red laser beam came from a dot on the underside of the tile and fired in the substance when she pressed start. After a couple of seconds it finished scanning and the laser turned off. She waited for it to finish analysing while Raven walked off to one side and started calling to her.

"What you found?" She asked curiously as she went over to him and looked into the side of a bush he was drawing her attention too. She set the tile down to one side as she reached in, seeing what he had found and pulled out a short, thin pink-ish tube that felt like soft flesh and was covered in the red substance. "Yuck, think we found a feeding spot." She was very uncomfortable with what she was seeing and holding before her attention was drawn back to the tile as it beeped a couple of times. "Let's see what Sophie's helping tool for us provides." She openly asked rhetorically as she turned to look.

'Substance 1: Blood, Human, Female. Substance 2: Blood, Human, Female. DNA not on record, DNA similarities between sources indicates family link of possible parent and child.'

As she read over it she then looked at what she was holding before letting out a quick panicked scream and dropping what she had been holding and jumping back a little. She then got the tile to scan the object, telling it to identify what it was and not the blood on it.

'Substance 1: Umbilical Cord, Human, Recent Cutting.'

"Someone had birth here?" She was freaked out by the results as she told the program to save the find, but not send it away. "That flash must have been whoever leaving, then if they tele-transported, why? I mean why not go to a hospital?" She was asking herself mostly and letting Raven hear her rambling as he then called her attention over to something else. She walked over and saw a couple of sets of footprints coming into the area through the snow.

"That comes from the Zambalen region" She was trying to think the thing through. "Arr, if only Rachel, or Terri were here to do this. Heck even Sophie with all her police skills would be better than me." She was getting a little frustrated then Raven called to her again, pointing to one of the sets of footprints which was smaller than the other set.

"What about these ones?" She asked as he pointed to the shape of the pattern in the tread. She looked closely and in the heel print part of it was a mark that looked familiar to her. "The Quintessence mark?" She was puzzled as to what this symbol was there, abet with a more pointed appearance on the mark. "Where have I seen this design of it before?" She thought over a moment before looking at Raven. "She's on earth, that is not good." She sighed realising where it was she had seen it before. "We need to tell the others." She put the tile away, still wondering what had happened in there before having Raven jump into her hand and carrying him outside, then she let him fly up and starched out her wings before following him up and then they flew off towards the forest.

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><p>Rachel wondered behind Sophie through the city's shopping centre, she sighed as they looked in several shops at dress's. They then wondered into an outside part. She hadn't been enjoying the trip despite managing to get some physical books to read.<p>

"Maybe I should just go in Guardian form, that would be smart enough, plus I won't feel the cold as much as I do now" She moaned a little.

"What happened to it being secret?" Sophie replied with a little giggle as she looked in windows of shops. "But I do agree, trying to find something suitable for you is hard, plus I got only a few hours to teach you to walk with some sort of heel."

"Better be something large" Rachel sighed. "Don't want to break my leg with a heel I won't be able to balance in." She then stopped by another shop window, spotting something move in the reflection above.

"Rachel?" Sophie asked seeing she had stopped. "What is it?"

"Above" She replied as she turned around and looked up, scanning the ridgeline of the building tops. "There was something following, has been for the last few minutes."

"Any idea what?" Sophie asked her as she looked around as well, reaching into a pocket.

"Not at all" She replied as she sighed and calmed down, then spotting something in the window of a large store. "Can I get that?" She then asked as she ran over to the window as Sophie followed, pointing at what she saw.

Sophie hesitated a moment as she then saw inside the store. "Ok, and I think we got a place to get you what you need.

Inside while Sophie was talking to a shop assistant Rachel was keeping watch around, still uncertain to what was following her outside, and inside it seemed every time she turned away something moved behind her. She wonders through the shop, into a back corner, positioning herself and then when she felt like something moved she turned around. In her view was only clothing on shelves and a single rack set up. She slowly made her way over to it, making certain no-one else in the store was nearby, the inside of her right hand glowed brighter as some small flickers of flame appeared. She slowly and quietly started to make her way around the stand.

"Rachel" Sophie's voice interrupted her, causing her to turn around so see she was holding a few items of clothing. "Got some things for you to try on." She offered them as she noticed Rachel's slightly startled expression. "Think it is inside here?" She whispered to her.

"Yea" Rachel quietly replied as she singled towards the stand. "Behind it, but it is most likely gone from there now."

"Go try these on and I'll keep watch for anything" Sophie replied as she passed the cloths to Rachel and they made their way to the dressing rooms.

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><p>Emma swooped over the forest having followed the footprints over the ground into the tree's and they went along a path between the trees. Raven flew just ahead of her and below. They both landed upon arriving at a wooden house against a large tree that had the door open.<p>

"This area looks familiar" She muttered to Raven as he landed above the door. Then there was a moment he heard a noise inside. She then gave a hand signal to tell Raven to go ahead. He nodded in response before flying in ahead of her.

It was dark inside the house along with a lot of mess. She looked around what little she could see, then there was a screech from Raven as he swooped past her in an aggressive call, there was then a female scream. She turned around and saw someone tumble outside with Raven attacking them, she quickly went after then and once outside she was able to see who was being attacked by Raven.

"Raven stop" She instructed, which he immediately responded and flew up to her and landed on her head. She looked down seeing a now snow-covered Amy on the ground. "Please tell me you didn't find evidence of someone giving birth and use of magic." She asked as she pulled Amy off the ground.

"One moment" Amy replied as she shook the snow off her and then looked at Raven. "Don't you dare laugh or you will find yourself in need of a vet, just be lucky that if it was a cheap shot you already would be at one." She did seem a little annoyed. Raven just made a little call which Amy just stared at him.

"He just said don't sneak up" Janet replied a but nervously as she wondered out the house with Freddie. "And what brought you here?" She then asked Emma.

"Following those" Emma replied as she pointed at the footprints in the snow she had followed.

"So she is still around" Amy giggled a little as she punched a hand into the other while Freddie barked a bit.

"That is right" Janet replied to him still a little shook up before some more barks, leaving Emma looking a little confused. "He says the person who took Fran was pregnant, you said something about birth evidence." She then looked at Emma.

"Yea, found a umbilical cord that came from a human" Emma replied very confused. "How do you know what he and Raven said?"

"She seems to be able to talk to animals" Amy replied, with a little bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Ignoring whatever is happening to me, the bigger issue seems to be that is this is who we think this is, we need to speak to Rachel and Sophie fast" Janet hurried to change the subject a little annoyed as her sisters disbelief.

"She is right" Emma nodded. "Until we know otherwise we can't leave this to the police directly."

"Good, means they won't be in my way when we find her" Amy smirked.

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><p>Across the city the ocean lay, with a large beach inside a large bay. To one side of the bay was a large rocky area and sitting within a rock-pool area of it was a pale blue-pink skinned girl with short-ish brown hair, green eyes, gills on her neck dark, 3 digits on her hands and feet that were webbed and had short claws on the end along with the start of small fins on the side of her lower arms, there was also a long tail ending in a fin. All her fins were sapphire while she also had parts of her body in dark yellow scales while wearing a swimming costume. She sat looking over the pools looking rather depressed as in a hand she held a necklace with a white-ish shell attached to the end. She sat there with the only sound of the waves crashing on the rocks as she looked sadly over the bay.<p>

"Why did things have to take you away" She sighed. "Time is cruel."


	3. Chapter 3: History 1: Origins

**Chapter 3: History Part 1: Origins**

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>Welcome to the first of the 'History' chapters which will cover events from the past of the characters, some parts will have larger roles in the story then others, but overall it provides insight to things that effects the characters.

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><p><strong>2495 - August<strong>

Fire rose up above an old industrial building as fire crews moved in evacuating people. There was panic all around as another explosion came from the building.

"That is it, everyone out, this place is going down" The chief spoke into a radio.

"I got 3 more on the other side of the storage chamber chief" A male replied back on the radio.

"Olson, don't be stupid, get out now" The chief yelled back as he looked on a holo map. "That area is next to go and is full of chemicals."

A little way across the city a younger Sophie sat in the park, it was summer, she was in her late teens and sat with a slightly older looking person of the same species as her. This other one was giggling away excitedly.

"So, you like?" She asked as she showed Sophie a engagement ring with a diamond in it.

"Congratulations sis" Sophie squealed happily back. "But you are not the only one with good news" She then opened a holo letter and showed. "I got into the police academy Polly."

"Looks like we both get got good things coming in the future" Polly replied as a beeping came from her holo device and saw it was a call logged from the hospital. "Hello...What?...I'm coming now!"

"What is wrong?" Sophie asked seeing her sister now rather concerned and getting up fast.

"Callum was injured in a fire across town, he is in the hospital" She was clearly troubled. "You got exams in a bit, so catch you later." She then ran off.

At the hospital hours past as she spent time with the man who gave her the ring, eventually the doctors told them he will recover, but there was a incurable problem, some of the chemicals had caused unstable cellular mutations and that he may only have years to live.

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><p><strong>2498 - January<strong>

Screams filled the ward of the hospital's maternity unit as Polly was giving birth, her tail had to be restrained for the protection of the doctors. Callum sat in a wheelchair alongside looking rather bad himself as the effects of 3 years before were slowly harming him, and despite this the pair of them had now enjoyed 2 happy years married. After a short time the screaming from Polly went silent and a baby's cry was herd.

"Congratulations on a girl" The doctor spoke as she passed over the baby wrapped in a blanket.

"She is beautiful" Polly smiled at her daughter as she rubbed noses with the child to calm it down, something normal for the species.

"She is special to be born considering everything" Callum weakly smiled to her.

"Despite this our original plan of Wilhelmina doesn't quite fit her for the first name" She replied as the child went quiet and giggled a little at the bonding with the mother.

"You wanted to use it tho" He replied as he was passed the child and gently stroked her scale covered head.

"Middle name then" She spoke as she stretched a bit as she recovered and thought. "We are using your ancestors name so how about Holly? The loose translation of my grandmother's name that was in the first settlers from Talunia to earth."

"She does have something of an exploring feel of her" He smiled back before turning to the doctor. "Register her as Holly Wilhelmina Olson."

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><p><strong>March<strong>

Janet is born, she is one of the first children to be classed as second generation cross-breeds.

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><p><strong>April<strong>

The door bell buzzed again as Sophie went to answer it. Opening the front door of her home that she still had years later but with a sold sign outside. Within there was still large bio-plastic boxes being unpacked. As she opened the door she saw outside in the cool night was her sister cradling the young Holly in her coat, she was upset.

"Sis, what is it?" Sophie asked as she shoved her police uniform aside as the box it was in fell down by the door.

"He...He's gone" She slowly replied as she entered the house and was lead to the sofa and sat down.

"Sis, I...I don't know what to say" Sophie softly replied as she cuddles her older sister while being careful not to harm Holly.

"I just hoped that he would have a few more years" Polly weakly spoke as she curled up around her baby and lay in her sisters lap and cried.

Across the city in a apartment in a 4 story height block of flats by the bay a woman similar to Terri's appearance but with dark teal scales. She had sat curled up on a chair gently stroking her tummy.

"Don't worry, I am certain he will be home soon" She sighed a bit, it had been 3 days since she had last seen her partner, and he never came home from work since she told him that they would be having a child. She had contacted his workplace, he hadn't come in since the day he disappeared and she had logged a missing person with the police, but nothing. She sat watching the front door, in hope he would return, but she knew that soon she needed to get a home with a underwater part, ether on the waterline on in the growing underwater colonies in the sea as the child will only have their gills to breath with for a year after birth.

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><p><strong>November<strong>

Terri is born after her mother moved into the underwater housing in the bay in September, she would raise her alone for the next few years.

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><p><strong>2499 - October<strong>

Emma is born.

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><p><strong>December<strong>

It was dark night over the city as snow fell all around, Christmas decorations are all over the place providing light in the closed shops windows. The streets were nearly empty apart from the last few people trying to get home. At one side of the city centre sat a large dome-shaped white building that stood several stories high to allow large species to come and go, with large walkways linking it to main area for those large species to get around more easily. There was also a couple of roads linking to it for car parking and vehicle transporting, then near the top of the building was a grav-rail station. Inside the building was mostly open space with walkways, lifts and escalators around the side with some shops and checkpoints overlooking the main area while the top floor was offices and staff rooms. In the central area, underneath a holo image of space on the ceiling was 3 sets of 3 tall grey pillars with a pale blue pattern over them and a blue orb in the top of each. Each set of 3 was in a triangle formation and each set was surrounded behind a large window with a main door accessed by a security controlled door in a arrival and departure lounge for each of them.

"Looks like it will be a complete white-out tonight" A man spoke as he wondered into the security office and started taking off his thick coat. The office had a view of the central area and there was also dozens of holo screens allowing whoever was in there to monitor the whole facility.

"Better not stop the cleaners in the morning, I have the next week off, don't want to miss spending Christmas with my daughter for a 2nd time. And with another child on the way too I think Julia will be wanting me around" Another male spoke as they turned around in a chair they were sitting in. This person was tall and was effectively a male version of both Janet and Amy, and a lot older.

"Well David just enjoy those sort of days because it is teenage years they are begging for everything when it is a girl" The other person joked a bit with his reply. He looked overall human but with cat ears and a tail. His hair/fur was a dull grey coming with his age.

"Can't be all that bad Kalek" David replied as he grabbed a bottle of water from a small fridge in the side of the room.

"Maybe it just something to do with us lot from Calentia" Kalek smiled back as he grabbed another seat. "So what about Paula?"

"She is down doing the sweep on the ground floor" David answered as he finished his drink and opened up a control screen where he was sitting and then opened a communication channel. "How is everything down there?" He asked as he looked on the screens and saw the uniformed human with long blue hair wondering around.

"All is looking good down here" She replied as she gave a wave to the camera before her attention was drawn to something else. "Hey, can you bring up fold gate 2?" She than wondered towards the sections that had the towers, her ID badge she wore opening doors for her as she touched them.

"Got it" Kalek replied as he opened up a data screen on the gate she asked for. "What am I looking for?" He then asked her as David wondered over to the window looking over the area.

"Tower 1 is online" She replied as she arrived in the enclosed area that held gate 2. One of the 3 towers that were in the area had the blue pattern glowing on it, and it was getting brighter in the dark environment.

"Paula I am on my way down!" David called as he ran towards the door out of the room he was in. "Kalek try to find where it is coming from, someone is trying to open the fold and call central control to inform them of what is happening."

"On it" He replied as he started to work his way through the computer menus while starting a call.

A few moments later David arrived in the gate 2 bay as a series of matching blue lightning bolts started jumping around between the glowing tower and the other 2 filling the place with a crackling sound that echoed around.

"Hey, control says there is no due folds at any of the other terminals so it isn't a incorrect lock-on for another terminal" Kalek told them over the comms. "I have sent a call to the police and a response team is 5 minutes out."

"Rodger that" David replied as the bolts intensified and the other 2 pillars started to glow.

"That may not be fast enough" Paula called as she was watching the towers. Then both her and David drew out a pair of small guns which had the barrel glow orange as the energy in them started up. Overhead Kalek moved to the window to watch.

The place went silent as the bots stopped and the towers that made up gate 2 glowed brightly, then a bolt flew out of the centre of each and collided together in the middle of the 3 and a large fold then opened up before them. Kalek watched from above while David and Paula stood their ground ready for anything coming through.

A few moments passed and nothing happened, then suddenly a burst of energy flashed at the base of the fold where it touched the ground before the fold closed and the towers stopped glowing. Both David and Paula lowered their weapons and glanced at each other. Then the silence of the place was broken by a cry of a young child. They looked over and just at the bade of one of the towers near them there was a dark object.

"What is going on down there?" Kalek asked over the comms, not being able to see clearly below.

"Stand by, we got an unknown object arrived thorough fold" Paula replied back while David cautiously walked up to the object.

The object was a metal basket with some sort of blanket in it and something that was causing the noise. Just as David was about to aim a torch into the basket the place was then filled with the sound of charging footsteps as several heavily armed police officers arrived in the chamber.

"Stand down, fold closed" David called over them as he turned his torch on.

"What we got?" Paula asked as the officers stood down and backed up a bit.

David was quiet a moment as he looked into the basket and paused a moment as he saw what was inside. "It's a baby." He called back as he put his torch away and reached into the basked and pulled out the baby wrapped in its blanket, he gently cuddled it as he got it to calm down. "Call the hospital, this is like nothing seen before."

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><p><strong>A Couple of Days Later<strong>

A young man wondered down the corridor of the hospital. Most of him was covered by a long dark overcoat and woolly had, but from what could be seen he had pale green skin and pale brown eyes. He wondered past various people as he reached in a pocket and pulled out a ID, showing it to a scanner by a door labelled 'Child Care Unit, Public Entrance Via Corridor D4'. The door unlocked and he wondered in. Inside the sound of crying children filled the air as he wondered past several bay's with people inside to the main desk for the ward.

"I'm here for the mystery arrival from the fold terminal" He spoke to the person behind the desk as he passed them his ID.

"One moment" The female that was behind the desk replied as she placed it against her holo screen and it brought up his information that linked to his job:

_Name: James Emerson_

_Age: 22_

_Attendant at Highview Gate Orphanage_

_...Authorisation for collection of ID#258007 Approved_

"Ok if you will follow me" She replied as she got up, she was a clearly a normal human as she came round from behind the desk and lead him down a small side corridor, passed him his ID back and a holo tile after opening up a info screen. "You seem young for this." She commented as they went.

"It is get the new staff to attend the nursery duties so I am having to deal with the little ones" He replied as he looked over the info. "I see she is a half breed...But unknown non-human...No DNA match for human side...What exactly have we ended up with?" He spoke as he went through the entire report about what had been determined about the child.

"Sounds like they want to scare off workers" She joked quickly as they arrived at a side room and entered where a another nurse was busy trying to calm the crying child. "You got your work cut out with this one." She then added as they went over and she told the other nurse who he was and why he was there.

"Good luck with her" The other nurse said as she passed the child over. They still had the same blanket they arrived in and in the light revealed it was blue.

"You given her any sort of name?" He asked as he gently cuddled the child and rocked her slowly getting her to calm down.

"We just check her health, that is your job" The nurse that led him in replied.

He sighed briefly as he looked down at the child's glowing marks where her eyes would be, he could tell that despite not being able to see an actual eye she was staring at him. He thought for a moment trying to find a name, he then spoke once settling on one. "How about we call you Rachel."

* * *

><p><strong>Authors note:<strong> Just letting people know that Holly will NOT be resurrected, any time she appears alive will be in things in the past or it is something pretending to be her (no plan for imposters, but saying just in case I do such a thing at some point, spirit appearence's may happen)


	4. Chapter 4: The Calm

**Chapter 4: The Calm**

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><p>Amy move fast over the snow covered paths of the city as she road on her hover board, the dark of the skies was only broken by the lights of the houses and the street lights above, while the bottom of her board had a blue glow that hummed a little as she road it, using a glowing orb in her right hand to control the board as it moved, a small amount of snow was blown up from her passing over. Above Emma swooped down as they neared their destination and Janet was running behind them with Raven flying above her. They were making their way along a street filled with small bungalows.<p>

Inside one of them at her home Rachel stood in her room looking in a mirror and sighed. She had on a tight fitting dull silver dress that was knee length and had no sleeves. She also had on some grey leggings. "I look so stupid." She muttered as she sat on her bed and pulled on the calf length black boots with a medium heel on it, she then stood up, wobbling a bit as she tried to balance, then once she got it she tried walking around in them.

In the main living area Sophie was having some tea and reading through the news as she sat at the table in the kitchen area. Her attention was drawn away from the news when a thud was heard from the back of the house. "You all right back there?" She called out.

"No, I feel like a joke in this!" Rachel called back.

Sophie sighed a bit . 'The heels.' She thought 'I would say use the tail but she doesn't have one.' She then started to drink her tea again only for a buzz to come from the door, she got up and quickly straightened her smart uniform that she was wearing that has all her badges displayed on it as she went over to the door. 'I thought I told Eddie we will meet at the party.' She thought in panic before opening the door and seeing the girls standing outside. "Well this is a surprise, wasn't expecting to see you all today." She smiled to them as she let them come in out of the cold.

"Well Rachel told us of the plans but we need to talk" Emma replied as she shook her feathers clean before Raven landed on her head.

"So where is she?" Amy asked as Sophie and Janet quickly had a silent conversation about asking for a drink and Janet then went over to get one before another thud was heard from the back.

"This is stupid!" Rachel yelled out.

"Learning to walk in heels in her room" Sophie replied with a little sigh. "Hasn't been going well from what you can hear."

"I found it easy" Amy laughed a little as she sat down on the sofa.

"That is only because you spent a lot of time standing on your toes due to your love of fighting" Janet poked fun at her sister as she wondered back with a drink. "Took me a bit to get use to it."

"This is where having my sort of feet is handy, walking in heels is not something I have to worry about" Emma giggled.

"As much fun as comparing facts of life can be, there is a clock against us tonight" Sophie interrupted before Amy could comment back at Janet. "Am I able to know what is going on?"

"Sort of" Emma replied as she got out her holo tile that she had scanned the find earlier with and opened up the scan file. "I found this." She then passed the tile to Sophie.

"Any reason you didn't submit the find?" Sophie asked as she read through the data.

"Same reason we didn't report a missing person" Janet replied. "They have a link and..."

"Seriously mum do I have to go in this?" Rachel interrupted as she slowly walked into the living area, doing her best to keep balance. She was also now wearing a pale white open fronted top that had long sleeves. She then spotted the others were there and shied back a little. "Umm, hey."

"You need to be dressed up, I have to go in my smart uniform which I find uncomfortable, especially as it does restrict the tail a bit, but trust me, what you got is better then what I have" Sophie replied as she gave Rachel a reassuring cuddle.

"You look good in that" Emma commented.

"Should have asked to borrow my red dress" Amy added, to which she just got looks that told her to back down.

"Ignoring sis's comments it makes you look very mature" Janet smiled to her.

"Still, I fell stupid like this, would be better if I could go in guardian form, just find something to hide the wings would be easier" Rachel replied.

"And then what? You will make guys thing you are older then you are and get them all flirting with you as you look late teen's, trust me when I say being 16 and getting a lot of guys after you is not fun at times" Janet replied.

"Still I just don't feel good in this" Rachel sighed. "So what was going on then?" She then asked.

"Just an old friend wanting another beat down" Amy smiled as she got up and punched a fist into her other hand. Rachel looked around them all, not saying a word, trying to get what Amy said clearly.

"Afraid so" Emma sighed. "Looks like the evil twin of the Oracle is back and in town."

"This is perfect" Rachel sarcastically moaned. "First a Lurden is roaming free somewhere, and now she shows her face. Any idea what she is planning?"

"Not really, only that is seems like she kidnapped our neighbour Fran who works at the maternity unit in the hospital, and Emma found evidence of a birth in some woods that has a trail come from her house, and going by a dog talking to me it seems she was the one that was pregnant" Janet explained, with a little bit of embarrassment at the dog talking part.

"She can't have had a child this fast, after all she was only created just over 3 months ago" Rachel was baffled as she carefully made her way over to the kitchen and got a drink and a straw to drink with. "And since when did dogs talk?"

"Seems sis can understand what animals are saying, personally I think it one-too-many knocks to the head" Amy teased only to have her sister hit her in the arm.

"Be her fault that" Emma joked quietly to Sophie to which they both giggled, clearly annoying Amy.

"Well I can see why you didn't report this in" Sophie spoke trying to stop Amy declaring war on everyone. "I will do what I can to track Fran and come up with a cover. You told Terri?"

"No, wanted to speak with you both first" Emma replied.

"Plus why bother telling her" Amy jumped in after. "After all she has ditched us now, yea she was around and seemed to be fine for a bit, but then she just start avoiding us without warning and hasn't been at practice or meetings, so I say leave her out of it."

"Sis!" Janet snapped. "I am certain she has a reason, but leaving her out of information like this could be dangerous for all of you."

"Janet is right Amy" Rachel commented as she pulled the Heart out from an inside pocket of a top she had left behind the sofa and looked at the pink orb in it. "Terri needs to be aware that dark Will is around. Even if she doesn't want to help us, she needs to know in case she is targeted. You have any idea of a sort of plan or movements after the birth?"

"I only saw a tele-transport flash which drew my attention, nothing to suggest what was going on next" Emma sighed back as Raven tried to cheer her up by rubbing his head in her hair.

"Rachel we better move" Sophie quickly spoke out seeing the time on the clock.

"Right" She sighed as she got up and gave the Heart to Sophie to put away in a pocket. "Thanks for warning me, I will keep any eye out at the party for anything, after all, a lot of important people will be there and she may target it for whatever reason. You lot find Undia to tell her, something about this Lurden incident and her re-surfacing now has me feeling like it is linked so she should know just in case she walks into serious danger."

"She was the one that beat her before, as much as I wish it was met knocking her around" Amy pointed out as they got ready to all head outside.

"That may have been the case then, but remember what Undia said after, that she never seemed to use her full power, so we have no idea of truly how powerful she is" Rachel pointed out back. "Regardless, Undia could walk into a trap so she deserves a heads-up that the situation she is here for could be linked to another one. Then after telling her inform Terri. There is as much of a chance she will come after us for revenge of stopping Demal, or purely for her hate of her original self and may use us to get at her."

"Got it, we better watch our backs too then" Emma nodded as they went out into the cold snow. Raven then flew off her head and she then stretched her wings out and flew up into the air a bit.

"Enjoy yourself, and don't be afraid to hit anyone you don't want flirting with you" Amy giggled as she grabbed her hover board from next to the front door and hit it to turn it on and then climbed on top of it before holding her right hand in a way that the orb flew out of the board and into it. "And I got Undia, think I know where about she would be." She instructed to the others before sounding a bit annoyed at the next bit. "You lot can go find the deserter."

"I am beginning to see what this whole earth guardian with a fixed attitude thing is about, hope they all were not all the same as my sister" Janet joked to Rachel while ignoring her last bit as they hugged and she then jogged after Amy as they all went off.

"Come on then" Sophie spoke as she cleared off a small dark orange car and then opened the doors and they both got inside. Upon starting the power the underside lit up like Amy's hover board and the vehicle hovered and then after making certain they were strapped in (and her tail was safely through a hole in her seat) they headed off.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Sophie and Rachel to arrive outside a large dull stone mansion on in the city's central area, surrounded by a high wall with a large gate to access the place. The drove up the drive towards the building, Rachel shied back a little bit seeing the large building. Sophie quickly glanced across at her before smiling a bit and talking gently to her. "Come on, if you went into a cave full of danger, I am certain you can handle this place full of people that don't want to harm you."<p>

"I know it safer" Rachel quietly replied. "I still just don't feel comfortable around so many people."

"Well there will be more your age here so you may find someone from school" Sophie reassured her. They then pulled up outside a set of stairs into the building. Once they stopped a male chauffeur walked up and opened the door for Sophie, the person then helped her out.

"Welcome Captain" They spoke upon seeing her rank marking on the uniform. And held out a holo tile for her to sign in her car on as she passed over a key card to him.

Sophie game a smile back as a female college of the man signing her in went around the other side of the car to let out Rachel. Upon the door being opened Rachel started to get out a little reluctantly, she then looked at the person who had let her out a jumped a bit at the sight of their short dark red hair with a face that looked similar to someone she knew.

"Miss...Something wrong?" The woman asked seeing Rachel standing there.

Rachel snapped out of being locked on the person face when she spoke, the voice was not the one she was hoping not to hear from them. She shook her head briefly as she focused. "No, fine" She sounded a little caught off by the person. She then quickly moved around the car to join Sophie, stumbling still in her new heels still, and then following her adopted mother up the stairs to the entrance, quickly glancing behind her at the woman again. 'Calm yourself.' She thought to herself. 'You are letting her get to you.' Despite trying to calm herself she still could feel something watching her like from before.

* * *

><p>Nearby on a rooftop of a small tower something moved in the shadows, watching movement of the mansion and keeping Rachel in their sight.<p>

* * *

><p>Across the city in an abandoned estate that had the buildings falling into disrepair, Amy was slowly riding her hover board along the disused roads, looking around trying to catch sight of anything moving around. She moved from what would be classed as a main road onto a small side road.<p>

"How hard can it be to find 1 techno-organic in this city" She moaned to herself. "After all where else would a on the run creature come to."

Her attention was then drawn to something moving in the shadows in an alley between a pair of blocs of flats. She stopped the hover board before jumping off and attached it to her back having it slide together a bit to shrink it. She walked into the alley, it was long a dimly lit apart from a flickering light in the middle and completely messy around it, she could see whatever had caught her attention was just beyond the light. As she got under the light she looked at the wall next to her and saw a electrical box, quickly she opened it up and despite she could see everything wired up she sighed and hit the main junction part of it and all the other lights came on. She closed the box and turned to look and saw what was there.

"Well this may be my lucky day, you should get her attention for me" She giggled seeing the Lurden turn from scavenging in the rubbish where it was to see who was there. "Now come nicely and you can go home." She then ordered.

The Lurden looked at her for a moment and then roared out. Amy just giggled a moment at the roar before hearing 2 roars come from behind her followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. She slowly turned around and behind her another 2 had arrived, then the sound of another object hitting the ground came, she turned back to where she had originally been facing and the one from before had been joined by another to bring the number to 4.

"Ok, now we get to do this the fun way" She smiled a little as she took her hover board off her back and set it aside and then removed her thick coat and placed it on the top of the board, quickly followed by her jumper, leaving her thin short-sleeved tight top left beyond her trousers and boots. She took up a position ready to fight as all 4 Lurdens roared together and started at her.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>You really think I would have had Amy do this any other way? lol


	5. Chapter 5: The Search

**Chapter 5: The Search**

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><p>At the beach in the bay area Janet stood by a small jetty over the water as Emma landed next to her.<p>

"Any sign?" She asked.

"None" Emma replied. "It may be because it is dark she is back home." Raven then returned and landed on her head giving a shake of his head. "He had no luck, tried to ring her?"

"I did, and if she is home she is quiet about it or her parents are in on her not wanting to talk to us" Janet sighed as she tried to call Terri again. "I'll send a message to her, but I don't know if she will pay attention to it."

"Looks like that is all we can do, my parents had to take Gary to the doctors so think I can crash at yours for a bit?" Emma asked as the pair started to walk off.

"Don't see why not" Janet replied as she adjusted her coat. "Just got to stop off and check on Freddie, otherwise dad is at the same thing Sophie and Rachel have gone to and mum is working night shift so they won't know."

"So think Amy has found Undia yet?" Emma then openly asked.

"Hard to say, but knowing her she will make enough of a scene to call Undia to her" Janet rolled her eyes as she replied. "But when we get back, you up for a some games, including a battle?"

* * *

><p>Across the city Amy stood in her standoff with the Lurdens, waiting for one of them to attack.<p>

"Come on you big rats, who wants the first thump, it's free" She teased to them as she then flicked one of her wrists a little which made one of the Lurdens behind her roared again before charging at her. She quickly turned to intercept it's charge, squatting down a little and placing the side of her arm into its neck while punching it's chest with the other and also activating her powers to move a broken bit of pavement to fly up and hit the head of another one charging in.

She tried to catch her breath, moving the broken pavement was more draining then she had wanted as then the other 2 Lurdens charged and leaped on her knocking her down to the ground with a dusty thump. She wriggled a bit as the pair held her down by pushing on her back while the other 2 were recovering from the attacks against them.

"Over here" Her voice called out, echoing around the ally which made the Lurdens look around, and standing just a short distance away was Amy. "Yea, think you got the real me?" She spoke again as another her appeared from the shadows the other side of them all. "Why don't find out who is the real one?" She then taunted as next to the other Amy's another one appeared on each side and all 4 of them took up position ready to fight.

The Lurdens looked around rather confused by the 5 of the same girl now there, but with the one they had already got not moving they paired up and charged straight at the 2 groups of Amy's, only for them to disappear right before they hit them, leaving each to end up running into walls, rubbish piles or wreckage that was in the ally. While they were distracted the Amy they had left rolled aside into some box's at the side.

"Aww, you are slow" Amy teased as the Lurdens looked back to where they had come from as they recovered and saw the 4 Amy's they tried to attack all standing together in the middle teasing them. There was another roar before they charged and leapt again, but like last time the 4 Amy's disappeared leaving the Lurdens this time to crash into each other.

"Oh, not as much fun making them fight themselves but means to the end" The real Amy sighed to herself as she got up from the box's, then aiming her hand and focusing hard on the bit of pavement she used earlier it flew up to her hand and then she launched it into a heavily cracked bit of wall above them breaking that part apart and the falling rubble landed on the Lurdens trapping them.

"Despite your dark nature, maybe I could keep one of you as a pet" She joked crouching down next to them and poking one of them to see if it was still conscious, then she noted she could only see 3 of them. "Ouch, you lost better give the other one some breathing room." She added in the teasing assuming the forth was under them, then she felt some heavy breathing on the back of her neck, she slowly turned around to see and a look of fear struck her, she had missed one of them. "Sneaking up for a cheap shot isn't far!" She screamed at it as it's claw raised up in preparation to strike her, and she had nowhere to go, she closed her eyes trying to get some rubble that wasn't pinning down the others to come but she felt too tired to make anything move, she then prepared herself for the strike.

Suddenly a wave of heat shot past her and when she opened her eyes the Lurden was lying on the floor by the wall several feet from her, she then looked the other way to see what had done it and standing there was Undia, fully armoured up and with one of her arms covered in fire.

"Knew if I looked for these guys I would find you" Amy cheered herself.

"Seriously, you came after them for me?" Undia couldn't believe what she just herd. "Couldn't Rachel have just contacted me via the Heart?"

"Well it is more fun to bet them up a little" Amy giggled as she walked up to Undia as her arm was extinguished of the flames. "Wait, we can call you on the Heart?"

"Well yes, our communications are linked to it" Undia replied. "Seriously you lot didn't know?"

"Well it's not like that thing came with a instruction guide, Rachel has only just managed to master folds with it, and it took her a few weeks to get it to transform us" Amy replied back. "I know about the astral drop thing she still needs to learn but what else is there?"

"Well there is tele-transportation, summoning it if separated" Undia started to reply before being interrupted by the Lurden roaring after getting up from Undia's attack. "Ok, deal with him first then we can sort out what you wanted."

Amy just nodded as the Lurden charged again, only for both Amy and Undia to strike it in unison.

* * *

><p>Rachel and Sophie wondered into a large hall surrounded above by balcony's, the place was filled with people of all kinds from different professions. She then cuddled up to Sophie's arm, still a little uncertain of being around this many people.<p>

"Captain Davis" A male voice spoke from aside as a human male in a uniform similar to what Sophie had on approached from one side followed by a woman who clearly was his wife.

"Sir" Sophie responded with a salute.

"Don't need to be quite so formal captain" He replied with a smile before spotting Rachel tucked up beside her. "So this is the new child you have."

"Yes, Rachel this is police chief Wallis Kennington, my boss, and Sir meet Rachel" Sophie introduced them.

"Hello" Rachel replied slightly unsettled.

"And to you too" Wallis replied spotting his wife heading off towards a table with the food. "Well I best tend to her, have a good evening both of you." He then wondered off.

Sophie giggled a moment before speaking to Rachel. "I thought you weren't shy anymore."

"It not that" Rachel replied. "Just not use to this many people in a small space, even school is less crowded."

"Well upstairs looks quieter so if you want to head up that is fine" Sophie tried to cheer her up pointing the stairs out. "I'll join you later as I want to find Eddie."

"Yea, you have mentioned him sever times over the past few weeks and haven't said who he is" Rachel darkly pointed out.

"You will know soon" She teased back before giving a wave and heading off into the crowd.

Rachel sighed a little before heading towards the stairs, still wobbling a bit in her heels. 'Hopefully can find somewhere up there to sit so I can avoid walking in these for most of the night, failing that the railings look decent to lean on.' She thought to herself as she looked up at the higher floor before bumping into someone. She stumbled back and fell onto her bum, but surprisingly to her it didn't hurt much as then she felt the floor was soft. "Sorry." she spoke as she saw the shadow of the person she hit come up to her.

"No it was my fault" The person replied offering a hand to help her up. She looked at the person, it was a Human-Zambalen half breed like Amy and Janet except this one was male, more to it, it was their father just Rachel didn't know it was him. She took his hand and he pulled her back up to her feet. "You going to be fine?" He then asked her.

"Yea I will be" Rachel replied, still a little unsettled by what just happened and by the fact this person was a good couple of feet at least taller than her.

"Well that is good to know" He replied before starting off, but then stopping to look back at her. "Hey, do I know you? you look familiar from somewhere."

"If we have met I don't remember it" Rachel replied. He then shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way leaving Rachel a little confused.

A little while later she was standing on the upper level having not found seating near the stairs so instead she was leaning on the rail looking down on everyone below while still trying to work out how the man knew her.

"Miss Davis?" A voice asked behind her.

"Mum is down there" She replied having found Sophie in the crowd of people with a male Bacoloian, presumably Eddie by the amount of time they had been together.

"I was sent for a Miss Rachel Davis, keeper of the flame and heart" The voice replied.

The reply made her jump a little and a bit concerned, how did this person know about her having fire and the heart, and why did he want her. "If you know who I am then you better give me a good reason to what you want." She warned them as she turned around to see this was a strange female elf-like person in a butlers uniform before her.

"Of course Miss, the ambassador has requested your presence in his office" She replied offering to lead the way.

"Fine" Rachel slowly replied. "But this better not be anything funny, have got a lot on my mind." She then started to follow the woman only to quickly glance around at the ceiling where some windows where, still with the feeling that she was being watched secretly by something.

* * *

><p>"So you certain about this?" Undia asked as she and Amy stood on a rooftop with the Lurdens tied up and sending them through a fold.<p>

"Not completely but the others seems to be certain" She replied pushing the last of the 4 through.

Undia was silent for a moment as the fold closed as she thought. "Still, why tell me?"

"Cos you kicked her butt before so she may want pay-back" Amy suggested as she shrugged her shoulders before putting her coat back on.

"So, what about you lot, after all, you stopped Demal who was in control of her" Undia then replied as a red glow flashed over her and her armour faded away.

"Well..." Amy started before realising something. "Ok, I haven't told the others but I think she is more independent then we give her credit for."

"What do you mean by that?" Undia then asked as she sat on the ledge of the roof with Amy sitting down next to her.

"Well each time we encountered her she seemed more free-willed then the last" Amy replied as she looked up at the sky, the clouds had cleared and she stared at the stars. "I mean when we first encountered her she was completely obedient to Demal, yet Emma said she was able to act freely enough to trick a friend of the Oracle's into thinking it was her, and then against you she was completely able to fight in hand to hand without any commands and adapt to you fighting. Then in the end she was able to escape, if she was ordered to act revenge she has had plenty of chances to get us already so something else is up, especially if we are right and she has done something to accelerate pregnancy and have a child."

"I'll have to take your word on that as not having encountered her before that battle but she did seem to be a bit too free to be mind controlled like Jessica was" Undia commented. "But going by what you think it has me thinking that the child was not a consequence of her time under Demal's full control."

"She has to have something planned then" Amy sighed a little as one of the stars caught her eye.

There was a few moments of silence as Amy looked straight at the star that had caught her eye and Undia thought again before she then spoke. "Hey you think this Lurden raid has something to do with her then?"

"I don't know, what is you thought on a link then?" Amy asked almost sounding like a young girl now as she was lost in her gazing.

"Well someone would have to organise them to do a raid like what happened" Undia replied a little suppressed at how Amy spoke. "And then if she is on earth, I can't think on why they would come here otherwise, unless there is someone else we don't know about, but she is the most likely reason, especially considering there was no sign of the items stolen on those lot so they must have been delivered already." She paused for a moment before speaking more directly. "There is something else on your mind, something that is effecting you."

* * *

><p>Across in Amy and Janet's home Janet was resting on a chair at the main table in the house setting up a game from one of her holo tiles that she had for games while Emma was looking over pictures that Janet had done in her bedroom part of the place which was really a large room with dividers separating parts.<p>

"Done some nice work over the last few weeks there" Emma commented as she came back into the main area carrying one of the bits of paper that Janet had used for drawings. "Seem to have taken to do animals quite a bit but this one seems strange." She showed Janet the one she meant which was a couple of alternating rings and octagons with a strange marking in the middle.

"I don't remember doing that one" She replied as then a set of lines were projected over the table setting up some sort of arena. "There we go, ready for battle."

"Strange, it's different enough that would seem to be one to remember" Emma sighed as she put the drawing dowe and placed her tile at the other end of the table and it connected to what was set up and a menu appeared facing her and with a backing to prevent anyone opposite from seeing. Then as she sat opposite Janet Raven flew off her head and over to a work surface nearby and lay down and watched as then a small avatar for both Janet and Emma appeared before them on the table arena.

"Well hopefully sis has found Undia so she can join us for some fun soon, but for now I hope you have trained your team well cos I have got a new team trained up and they have done well in triple battles" Janet the smiled.

"You are not the only one with a new team, let's do this then Emma giggled.

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong> Well any guess's as to what Janet and Emma are going to play?


	6. Chapter 6: Revealing Secrets

**Chapter 6: Revealing Secrets**

* * *

><p>Rachel was lead round the level and through a door into a small dimly-lit room that was simply furnished as a old style office with wooden desk by a window that overlooked the city. There was a large leather chair that was facing away from her to look outside behind the desk and a couple of cushioned chairs in front of the desk. The walls had what appeared to be a large book shelf with several holo images of different worlds displayed.<p>

"Miss Davis as you requested sir." The person who had lead Rachel in spoke with a bow.

"Thank you Elsa" A man spoke from the other end without turning the chair around to be seen. "You are dismissed for now." The woman bowed again and quietly wondered out of the room. There was silence for a few moments as Rachel stood there before the man spoke again. "You wish to sit then?"

"No I will stand." She replied a little stubbornly as she kept glancing around. "I would like to know what this is about because if you know who I am then you should be aware how dangerous I can be if pushed."

"Of course" The man spoke a little cheerfully as the chair rotated round to have a him come into her view. He had on a suit going by what she could see over the desk, he also had short black hair and hazel eyes. "I am sorry for calling you over in such a way but I just wanted to check how things are going for the 4 of you."

"I do not know how that is of concern to you?" Rachel asked back very defensively.

The man smiled as he calmly sat back in his chair. "Didn't my attendant explain, oh well I am earth's ambassador to the planetary union, and as part of it I am privy to important information from Kandrakar." He paused a moment and took a drink from a glass that had been sitting in the shadows. "I had been in Kandrakar on business on the day you first went there. A brilliant job you all did too, and sorry for the loss of Holly..."

Before he could continue to speak, seemingly at the mention of Holly, Rachel snapped in. "With all respect sir, what is the point of this summons."

He was silent a moment, assessing her and could tell she wasn't in the best of moods now. "Like I said, merely to find out how the rest of you are doing."

"We are all doing fine." She coldly replied.

"Well I am certain yourself, Amy and Emma are, but what about Terri, I understand she is absent." He seemed almost too calm.

"Terri just wanted some personal time." Rachel lied back, trying to not completely loose her temper.

"Very well then." Something told Rachel he was seeing through the lie. "And how about the other girl, Janet I believe her name is, she doing well with the equipment I set up for your new mother to take?"

His words made her jump a little and piped her curiosity. "What do you mean by set up?"

"You really think some of that equipment and programs you all have would have been easy to come by?" He chuckled a bit before taking some more of his drink. "No, I merely arranged for them to be set up for captain Sophie to take away, thinking they were otherwise going to be destroyed, so no-one would miss them."

* * *

><p>"What is then?" Amy asked defensively to Undia as she got up and turned to face her.<p>

"You were distracted, I could see it in your fighting." Undia directly told her.

"So you profiling me like Sophie can do?" Amy asked, herself not liking being called up on her state of mind.

"No." Undia replied, being direct. "I could just tell from your fighting." Amy looked at her a bit confused. "Normally you are in control, always choosing your attack perfectly." She paused a moment before being strongly direct. "But this time you were reckless, leaving yourself open to more attacks beyond the hidden ones, and ever over-doing it."

"And, it matters to you why?" Amy yelled back. "You sent to keep an eye on us? Because I don't think how I fight is of concern to anyone."

"That is not what I mean" Undia tried to calm her down. "I am only bringing this up as a friend, as whatever is going on in your mind I am concerned may lead to problems if left unchecked."

"Still why does it concern you?" Amy asked again.

"I don't want to see any of you all hurt, and what I am afraid of is if you are not focused it will happen on something you easily would have not allow happen." Undia told her back. "But whatever it is you need to speak it out, not necessarily to me, but maybe getting out will help you, by not bottling it all up."

"Well, then thanks for the advice." Amy spoke coldly as she did her jacket up before moving to leave carrying her board. "But there is nothing wrong with me." She then wondered off back down to the ground level and then set off on her board.

Undia stood there watching her leave and gave a deep sigh, there was then a series of beep coming from a small box that was communication device she had attached to her side, she tapped. "Yes, I'm here." She spoke before a voice spoke to her. "Yes I am still on earth." She was silent as more was said to her. "You certain?" She then asked and awaited their response. "Understood. Inform Oracle that I will investigate the missing targets on the earth side." She then tapped the device again to end the communication.

* * *

><p>Emma was giggling away as she took another defeat in her and Janet's game. They had broken out some snacks to eat as they waited for Amy's return. Across the room Raven was watching from a angled beam that supported the ceiling while Freddie has wondered in to lie down and watch as he had no owner at home.<p>

"Nearly that time" Janet smiled away as she ate some of her nutrient cubes and chuckled away with Emma, not spotting around her a yellowish aura appeared around her and Raven looked on and flew down seemingly drawn to her, landing on the table in front of her. She looked down at him and without paying attention to her hand she didn't spot her current state as she started to gently stroke his head. "Want something then?" She tried to ask calmly but still ending up with some chuckles.

"Makes a change then asking me for..." Emma trailed off as she looked over and saw what was going on around Janet. As she stroked Raven with her right hand as yellow orb was forming below her left. Emma stared a moment not getting what she was seeing before her, she slowly started speaking again. "J...Janet, there is something you need to see."

"Sorry what?" Janet asked back looking over at Emma.

"You...You are glowing." Emma stuttered out.

"What?!" Janet giggled back a bit before looking down at the hand that was stroking Raven, she froze for a moment seeing the aura around her hand, she then looked across her body and then slowly stood up, the orb left hovering over the table. "What is this?" She slowly asked and took a few steps back before she tripped up on the legs of the chair she had been on and fell onto the floor. Her fall caused Raven to quickly fly over to Emma in panic, then before Emma could say anything as she slowly stood up there was a flash from the orb which she had missed seeing.

* * *

><p>"Why?" Rachel asked in a confused state. "What do you get from this? You expect us to owe you something?"<p>

The Ambassador sat there again for a moment and chuckled a little bit. "I am after nothing from you all in return for what I have done. I was just merely trying to do what I could to help you all perform your duties to the best you can." He paused his speech and signalled for Rachel to come round to the window overlooking the city. He turned around to look outside again as Rachel came and stood alongside. "Look up to the stars, and see what they tell you about what is going on." He paused again for a moment and took another sip from his drink. "The role of the guardian has been around for eons, but tell me where do you stand in the big picture?" Rachel look over to him a little confused. "Change is coming, and there will be chaos, you all will be there to clear it, but for who will be the question." He calmly spoke in a dark tone leaving Rachel completely puzzled by what had been said, but before she could speech he turned around to face over the desk and opened a holo screen and then spoke to her again in a more cheery tone. "I think I have kept you for too long, your mother appears to be looking for you." He signalled to her showing a image of Sophie looking around elsewhere on the upper level. He then pressed a symbol and a moment later Elsa returned into the room.

"Sir?" She asked in her professional way.

"Elsa please make certain our dear Rachel finds her way to her mother please." He informed her as Rachel slowly walked across the room towards Elsa. "And Rachel, take what I have told you to heart, your decisions will shape the future."

"I will" She nervously replied before being led out the room, something about him had left Rachel unsettled but could not focus on what or why.

* * *

><p>Emma and Janet both just stared at what had just happened from the orb in disbelief, standing on the table where the orb had been hovering above was now a yellow aura version of what looked like Raven. The real one then cautiously walked across the table to this one, it looked around it and then made a cry. The aura one then opened its beak to seemingly make a sound but it was silent. The real one then flew up in the air around it with then the aura one following before then following the real one flying around the room.<p>

"Did I just?" Janet stumbled to ask as she slowly got up, looking over herself briefly and saw the aura over her had gone.

"I don't know." Emma slowly replied after a brief silence as she watched the pair of birds in their flight before being silent for a few more moments. "Unless Amy is outside pulling some sort of prank I have no Idea what is going on." Then almost as suddenly as it appearing the aura Raven disappeared leaving the real one flying around alone and it went back to Emma and landed on her shoulder.

"Any chance I am becoming like you and sis?" Janet asked as she slowly brought her shaking hands before her face, almost terror in her voice.

Emma's eyes gave the answer as she looked down sadly. "Given that the only power not in use is quintessence and that was pink in colour, I don't think so."

Then almost as if arriving late after announcement of arrival the door of the dining area they were in opened to the snowy outside and Amy wondered in, quickly closing the door and putting her board in a cupboard nearby. She wasn't paying attention to the stares of her sister any Amy as she got out of her boots and her coat, only then as she hung it up did she spot they were both clearly shaken by something. She just stood there and stared at the pair of them. "What, you both got something you want to tell me?" She asked in a slightly annoyed mood, her earlier talk with Undia had her trying to ignore the comment made about her possible state of mind.

"Umm...Well..." Emma was struggling to know what to say and in the awkward state that was in the air, she rubbed her little beak a bit from a bit of embarrassment of the situation with the mess around.

Amy looked across them again having not completely reading the situation there. "Ok what is going on?" She then asked in a huff.

"Sis" Janet spoke as she stumbled over to Amy, shaking from fear that Emma's answer had given her. "There is something seriously wrong with me."

"What?" Amy asked in complete shock making her ignore what she had been annoyed about. She then grabbed Janet's shoulders and gently shook her to try to get her to focus. "What is wrong?"

Janet couldn't make eye contact with her sister as she stumbled to explain. "Glow over me...then a orb."

"Play friend" One of the voices that Janet had been hearing called out.

"Shut Up!" Janet screamed in both panic and fear, shaking Amy off her and calling across the room to where no-one was.

Both Amy and Emma looked around. "Sis." Amy then spoke a little concerned not seeing anyone else.

"One of the animals must have done it" Janet told them as she was breathing heavily.

"They didn't make a sound." Amy informed her sister which left Janet look more scared as Amy slowly wondered over next to Emma completely shocked as to what she was seeing with her sister who was still screaming away at something she nor Emma was hearing. "How long ago did it start this time?" She nervously whispered.

"Not long before you got back" Emma slowly whispered back while Raven jumped from her onto the table. "Has she had it this bad before? I just thought the voice thing was only just starting."

Amy shook her head while pulling Emma away. "She has been acting as if she has been hearing something on and off for about the last months now, I mean in the way of looking around randomly and when asked it is always 'I thought I heard something' but I do agree it has escalated fast."

Upon hearing Amy's words a thought struck Emma's mind. "When you say the last few months, do you remember when you started spotting this?"

Amy have a heavy breath as she thought back. "Umm, I would say..." She then trailed off as she realised something. "...A few days after defeating Demal." The last part came in deep realisation to her. She then nervously asked "You thinking this may be a side-effect of what he did to her?"

"I have no idea, but going from what you were saying earlier today she was handling hearing animals speak well." Emma pointed out back at Amy.

"But as I just told her Raven and Freddie haven't made a sound" Amy tilted her head to point out the animals which were just watching Janet's mad yelling at something that she was hearing speak.

"There must be something else to explain why" Emma spoke as she then nervously reached over to the table and grabbed the drawings she had been looking at earlier. "Has she explained any of these?"

Amy looked over the drawings of the animals first shaking her head. "No, I hadn't asked her about them." Then she stopped on the strange one that Emma had spotted. "But this one, something about it is familiar, don't know why but I feel I have seen it before somewhere."

"Huh?" Emma chirped out a little before covering her beak with one had a little caught out on how it came out and took the one that Amy was looking at and looked over it more closely. "Come to think of it, this seal or whatever it is does seem familiar. Do you think Terri..." She then trailed off realising what she was about to ask and nervously looked over at Amy who didn't seem too impressed with what Emma had started to say.

"Don't know and don't care" Amy stubbornly replied. "But if you want to ask the deserter for help be my guest but leave me out of it."

"Look I didn't mean." Emma tried to apologise sheepishly.

"I know what you mean, just if she thinks she can just wonder off like she did and abandon us well I think we should show her that we are better off without." Amy stubbornly interrupted.

Emma just sighed. "Look I just thought because of her spare time she has she could look into it, and well I don't really want to ask Rachel, while she loves looking into things, almost to obsession, I just feel telling her everything will actually ruin the good that is going on in her life. And don't really want her in more concern than we already got."

Amy then gave a sigh in knowing the fact Emma was right. "I guess you are right on that, but still, I am not going to ask her, so if you want Terri, have fun going to find her."

* * *

><p>"There you are" A relieved Sophie smiled as she found Rachel who had been escorted nearby by Elsa who had disappeared rather quickly from sight. She gave Rachel a little hug before looking down over her feeling that something was off with her. "What's on your mind?"<p>

"Don't read me please" Rachel quietly asked back as she still had the ambassador's words in her head.

"Well come on I want you to meet Eddy" Sophie happily spoke as she kept an arm around Rachel to comfort her as she lead her across the upper area.

Rachel glanced up at her face and could see she was really happy, and was smiling like when she first met her, and hadn't seen since the death of Holly. 'He can't be bad if she is this happy, but still, what is it that makes that feeling?" She thought to herself before being lead to by a table in the back corner where the man which she saw on the screen was sitting on a stool waiting with a few drinks there.

As they got over to him he spotted the pair and got up and quickly he and Sophie were cuddling and rubbed their foreheads gently together. Then she turned to look to Rachel. "Well Eddy this is Rachel, And Rachel meet Eddy. And well I guess you can call him my boyfriend."

Rachel's jaw dropped as she stared at them.

Eddy chuckled as she squatted down a little and patted Rachel's shoulder. "So I finally get to meet the other important person in her life then, I almost thought you were a myth." He joked a little.

"Umm...Well..." Rachel was struggling to speak and she gave him a little cuddle. "I had no idea to be honest."

Sophie chuckled a bit embarrassed. "Well he is those 'late shifts' I was having, sorry for lying to you, but I wasn't certain how well it was going to be for me and you." She hoped her apology would keep things calm as they all sat down.

"How long?" Rachel asked as she looked over the glasses, each just had water in them, but she found one with a straw and took it for her to drink.

"I have known him for a few years, and it was only a few days before the incident that we told each other about how we felt." Sophie explained as she rested against Eddy.

"I work as a mechanic downstairs in the station where she is based, and got talking over lunch a few years ago as colleges" He told Rachel as he gently stroked the side of Sophie. "And well over the time we became good friends and well we both developed strong feeling for each other so here we are."Rachel slowly drank as she listened.

"I was planning to introduce Holly to him before she passed." Sophie was still emotionally hurt as she went over that time, but Eddy gently rubbed her back to reassure her. "Typical really as she had often teased me about finding someone. But considering I never did get the chance after we confessed about how we felt about each other and started dating I just miss that she didn't get to meet him, or be with you longer."

"Well, I think she would be happy mum to see you smiling like you are." Rachel reassured her with a smile between drinking.

"Both you and her were lucky to have such a fine woman as a parent, even if you both were not her biological children." Eddy's voice was completely calm and soft, he really was genuine in what she was saying and expressing. "But there is something I did want to ask you directly Rachel."

"What is it?" She asked back.

"Well you recall a few weeks back you and me did the bonding link that my kind can mentally create." Sophie was clearly calm again and happy. "Well while me and Eddy were downstairs we linked to each other."

Rachel was stunned a little as she thought over what had happened those few weeks ago...


	7. Chapter 7: History 2: The Broken Family

**Chapter 7: History Part 2: The Broken Family**

* * *

><p><strong>3 Weeks Earlier – November 2513<strong>

"Sorry I'm late!" Sophie shouted out as she got in the house from the cold dark outside and quickly getting her coat and shoes off while not looking around. "I got caught up and..." She then trailed off as she properly looked around as spotted that Rachel was sitting only across the room in the kitchen area sitting at the table with several holo screens before her which she was clearly lost in reading through and occasionally tapping away on them to change what was displayed. Sophie stood there a moment watching Rachel as she loosened up her uniform a little.

Rachel just sat reading away wearing a think jumper, trousers and socks. Above her a ceiling panel was glowing red as it focused on warming under it. Occasionally she reached aside to a plate that was obstructed from Sophie's view and when the hand returned it had a cookie which she slowly munched through. After a few moments Sophie shrugged and her tail twitched a little and she wondered over and went round behind Rachel to see what she was looking at.

Sophie then gently rested her hands on Rachel's shoulders as she leaned over one of them. Rachel jumped a little and quickly turned her head round and upon seeing who it was she hit a button on one of the screens and quickly reached to her ears and took out a small bud from each. "Please don't scare me like that." She asked as she tried to calm her breathing.

Sophie giggled a moment before speaking. "Well then try and avoid losing your attention to other things going on around you." She softly spoke as she gave Rachel a cuddle and looked over the screens. "So reading up on us Bacoloian's then?"

"Well if I am to be a family member of the species I really should know about you lot properly. " Rachel replied as she looked back at the screens and continued to read.

"Still I don't think the anatomy of our brain structure is something that you need to know unless you plan on being a brain surgeon." Sophie joked a little as she looked at one of the screens.

"I...I..." Rachel stumbled a little as she realised what exactly she had been reading. "I got caught up in just reading though that I just opened up information that was related." She was a little embarrassed.

"Well then" Sophie smiled a little as she reached over and taped away on the controls and then all the screens blurred over so what was written and shown was not able to be viewed, leaving only the controls displayed properly. She then sat down next to Rachel and faced her. "What you learned so far?"

Rachel took a moment to compose herself. "The tail mussels are the strongest in the body, the wild state occurred to the meat proteins reacting with the chemicals in your adrenaline causing it to increase aggression and reduce the brain's ability to process what is going on around it. You are all telepathic, tho it is really weak not allowing distance communication, only working with the heads in contact, it however increases strength in females temporally after child birth to allow ease of imprinting on their child, the same sort of imprinting is used in relationships that locks emotional feelings of love when both have decided on being together, because of this there is no recorded evidence of any hunt of abuse in a relationship, nor any affairs occurring. This imprint also allows parent and child relationships to be strong, but that can vary on other emotions but regardless it allows them to be close. Your heart is actually centred in the chest rather than to the side like humans, and you have a secondary rib layer to shield the important organs. The horns and spikes on females are larger than on the male, but male get larger claws and a more plated scale formation on the body. There is also the preferred environmental habitat..." She would have kept going on before Sophie jumped in.

"...And in that you seem to know more than me about my own species." She joked a little before playfully rubbing Rachel's hair.

Rachel quickly brushed Sophie's hand off her. "Well there is one thing that is nagging away at me."

"Oh what is that?" Sophie asked curiously as she got up and grabbed herself some leaves to eat.

"Well the information records list you lot being close family-wise." Rachel replied as she got up and wondered across the room followed by Sophie into the lounge area, then up to a wall where photo's were displayed. "Why is there no images of your parents? And come to think of it, I don't recall anyone else from your side of the family at Holly's funeral."

Sophie sighed before wrapping her arms around Rachel from behind and gently pulling her onto the sofa and she lied down keeping her cuddle on Rachel who had not given any resistance. "Well I knew you would ask eventually, plus it not like I can keep the past tucked away..."

* * *

><p><strong>2495 - January<strong>

It was late night as Polly quietly opened the front door of her parents home and sneaked inside. There was no lights on and she quietly removed her boots and winter coat and placed them where they belonged before quietly sneaking down the hall towards the stairs so she could sneak upstairs to her and Sophie's bedroom, but just as she was about to start on the stairs a light suddenly flicked on. She looked round in panic into the lounge which had had the light come on. In there she could see Sophie standing there looking rather upset. Seeing her sister's look Polly slowly looked up and standing over her sister was a tall imposing male Bacoloian in a dark shirt and trousers, he didn't look happy at all.

"I'm sorry." Sophie cried out. "He made me tell him."

"Go to bed Sophie." The man pushed her away towards the stairs while keeping watch on Polly. "You will be dealt with later for keeping your sisters actions secret from me." Sophie quickly ran past Polly and up stairs. "As for you, what do you think you are doing interacting with a human the way you do?"

Polly growled a little under her breath. "I was with the person I love."

"Has what I raised you on gone right through your head?" He snapped back at her. "A relationship with him is not what is right for my daughter, plus what sort of child could come if it ever got that far, a species should remain romantically to the same species."

"Dad I love him, and that is all I care about." She called back, however her anger she felt was suppressed by her imprint, it was her father and she did love him, but her feelings of romance was what she was holding on to, her father was not listening to that however.

"Just because we live on earth doesn't mean the traditions of our home world cant remain important." He went back at her. And like his daughter he was unable to bring his emotions of dislike and hate for what she had done out fully.

"And in those it says nothing about having a relationship with a human is not allowed." She burst out back.

"You are meant to respect the wishes of your parents and I refuse to allow you to be with him." He growled.

Polly growled a little back before turning around and starting to put her boots and coat back on. Before reaching under the jumper she had on and took out a necklace that was made from a strongly carved bit of wood in a webbed shape with markings on it and held on her by some string, she yanked it and pulled it off and threw it on the floor before her father. "If that is the way you want it then as much I fell for you as my father, my feelings for him are stronger." She then started to the front door and opened it.

"You leave and despite how much I love my child you will not be welcome back here." He warned her.

She looked around and spotted at the top of the stairs her mother was standing there in her night dress and also wearing the same necklace she had just thrown away a moment ago. Her mother had the same look on her face as her father. "You should listen to him Polly." She softly spoke. "You know he only means best for you."

"I know mum" Polly sighed. "However I am old enough to choose for myself." She tried to hold back a tear. As she looked over her sad sisters face. "I'll find my own way, just go easy on sis, I did pressure her into keeping it quiet after she found out." She then walked out the house.

"Polly." Her mother weakly called out as she let some tears fall, Polly's father also cried a little.

Suddenly Sophie pushed her way pass her mother having quickly changed into some warm clothing. She stopped at the bottom also grabbing her coat and boots. She then pulled out her own one of the necklace and then wondered up to her dad and took it off and gave it to him. "Sorry dad." She cried out.

"Please, don't." He begged having had the love he had for both daughters tearing away at him while Sophie's necklace was placed in his hand.

"Maybe one day you can accept what she feels, and that there is nothing wrong with a relationship with another species." She told him before she slowly wondered out into the snow-covered outside before running after Polly, calling out to her.

Their father wondered up to the door slowly as their mother came down and cuddled up to him. "I only wanted to protect her." He softly told her as they cuddled up watching both children go away. "But despite that, I was serious, inter-species relationships are not right, I can't and won't accept him in our family."

"I know hun," She replied. "You mean well, but maybe just pushed too much on your dislike for that kind of relationship she wants."

* * *

><p>"Granted leaving home like that wasn't probably the best idea, but sis really loved him and didn't like dads views." Sophie finished.<p>

"And that still goes on today." Rachel sighed. "But what happened with the pair of you then?"

"Callum's parents owned a flat block across town and let the pair of us stay there until I had earned enough to buy this place once I finished basic police training and was a standard officer, sis and Callum stayed in the flat, and even after he died his parents did all they could to help her." Sophie calmly explained as she strokes Rachel's hair gently. "Dad on the other hand, while I still spoke at times with him, he wouldn't let me talk about sis, and once Holly was born it just got worse, he didn't like the fact she was a half-breed, and then after sis died he cut off communication with me after learning I was going to be raising her. Callum's parents still kept contact to know how their granddaughter was doing until time got the better of them."

"And what about your mum?" Rachel then asked.

Sophie sighed for a moment. "Mum was...Well looking back at the time I didn't understand why she always sided with dad, but now I think it was her love for him as a whole, not this one little issue that she herself didn't think was wrong, just her love blinded her. It is a pity too as Holly was loosely named after her mother who came to earth to learn about human culture, and form the stories she would tell she loved it here and did her best to become part of life on this planet. As for why dad had those views about cross breeding I don't know, for as long as other species have come to live on this world it has been going on, from all sides, each wants to 'maintain purity' and silly things like that. But to me, I think it has lead to two of the most beautiful girls being born." She then tickled Rachel a little.

Rachel did her best to not laugh from the quick tickle but she did end up letting a little giggle out, then once she calmed down she spoke again. "Still, what lead my parents to send me here..."

"Whatever it is I think they will be happy thinking you are safe and becoming a wonderful young woman." Sophie reassured her to which Rachel smiled and leaned back against her.

"What was with that necklace you mentioned the pair of you got rid of?" Rachel then asked.

"You not got that far then?" Sophie asked back to which Rachel just shook her head. "Well it is a tradition that on the 16th birthday every Bacoloian child gets something, for the male it is a ring band for the tail and for the girls it is a necklace, both have inscribed on them ancient text that is a blessing for them as they live. We both tossed ours because if our family wasn't going to accept the way we wanted to live then we were to cast ourselves out of what they lived in."

"Sorry." Rachel slowly mumbled. "Didn't mean to bring up a bad thing.

"Naa." Sophie smiled. "As you are my child now you have a right to know about the rest of the family, just sorry that they are people who I don't have contact with anymore."

"Still, can we try it?" Rachel then asked as she slowly got up to be kneeling on the sofa.

"Try what?" Sophie asked as she followed Rachel up.

"That mental bond." Rachel replied with a little bit of a shyness in her voice.

"I don't know." Sophie was a little hesitant. "Given your age and not being at least part Bacoloian means it may not work, or cause problems. I don't want to harm you."

"I trust you." Rachel replied giving her a hug. "I would like to have a bond, one that lasts and tells me where home is."

Sophie sighed a moment as she thought. "Ok then, but do as I say." Rachel just nodded while Sophie positioned herself to kneel on the sofa opposite Rachel. She then gently stroked Rachel's head. "Just close your eyes and relax your mind." Rachel's eyes stopped glowing as the world around her disappeared from her view and her breathing remained calm while Sophie leaned forwards and rested her forehead against Rachel's and closed her own eyes. "Just stay calm and don't fight it." She then instructed as she focused on connecting.

To Rachel time almost stopped as her head slowly felt lighter and lighter before she suddenly lost all since of what way was what and she slowly began to fall. Sophie caught her while trying to catch her own breath. She cuddled her gently while Lying her down to sleep on her lap and she waited.

* * *

><p>Several hours past before a tired Sophie while nearly falling asleep herself heard some groans from Rachel as she was slowly stirring from her sleep. "You feeling ok?"<p>

Rachel slowly sat up and spent a moment to get her bearings. "How do we know if it worked mum?" She asked before then slapping her hands over her mouth. "I did I just say what I think I heard?"

Sophie smiled a little. "Yes you did call me mum."

"But I never thought of saying it then." Rachel was stunned at what she did. "I was going to use your name but when I went to say it, it came out differently."

"Then it looks like it worked." Sophie cuddled her again. "Your mind recognises me as your mother. And while I may not be your biological mother, I do all I can to make certain she would be proud of you."

"Thanks mum." Rachel replied with a smile as she leaned into the hug, toppling them both over to lye back on the sofa. "Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked with a yawn.

"Certainly." Sophie replied reaching around the end of the sofa and grabbed a blanket out of a compartment on the end of it and threw it over herself and Rachel. "And I'll always be right with you." She smiled as Rachel rolled over to have her back to Sophie while then cuddling both her arms. Sophie had her tail flick around the blanket to activate a holo control panel and then the lights and displays in the room went out for the night leaving it dark save only for a bit of a glow from Rachel's body and sitting on the kitchen table, also previously hidden by the screens Rachel had open sat the heart, the pink glow from it seemed to respond to the darkness for the night and Rachel going to sleep with its glow dulling down.

"Thank you for everything, mum" Rachel slowly said before drifting off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Pain

**Chapter 8: Pain**

* * *

><p>Rachel sat there for a moment as she finished going over what she had been remembering. "So what exactly is it that you want to ask me?" She then slowly asked.<p>

"Well despite having creating the mental bond, which to us is normal when settling down with someone." Sophie started the explanation leaving it for Eddy to finish.

Eddy waited a moment nervously as Rachel kept going with her drink. "Well we want to have a earth style union...And given the situation with her parents I can't exactly go ask them..." He trailed off in embarrassment.

Rachel paused a moment trying to work out what exactly he was on about. "Don't worry too much, you can ask."

Eddy looked over at Sophie who gave him a reassuring happy smile before he looked back to Rachel before continuing to nervously ask her. "Given you are the closest person to this wonderful woman, I wanted to ask you if...I could marry her."

Rachel froze hearing the question, her mind running it through several times to be certain she heard what she did. Then the full extent hit her and chocked a little causing her to drop her drink with what was left spilling onto her hand that hadn't been used to hold the glass. "Arr." She moaned out as quietly as she could as she looked over the hand that was hit by the water.

"Rachel" Sophie quickly panicked seeing her in pain and she quickly moved to go round to her.

"What is wrong?" Eddy asked a little confused as to what was going on.

"Just a little issue with Rachel and most liquids." Sophie explained as she helped Rachel wrap the hand in napkins. "They tend to react with her skin."

Eddy came round both confused as curious as to what she was on about, then once there he could see what was going on. On part of Rachel's hand that was still exposed after being hit by the water had a fizzling going on from the water as it reacted with her along the red lines tho it was covered over moments later, it was clearly causing Rachel pain from the way she was reacting.

"That going to be ok?" Sophie asked as she finished wrapping over Rachel's hand to which she only just nodded. "Come on then, let's get you cleaned up better. Sorry Eddy just one of those things."

"Don't worry, accidents happen and I think I may have made her jump with the question." He replied still a little embarrassed.

"Sorry" Rachel apologised to him as she got up and Sophie lead her away and through a door into a corridor that lead to the toilets.

* * *

><p>Across the city and under the water in the bay the domed buildings with corals on them sat, and within one of them on the upper level that was a open plan room with air, having a hole in the middle of the floor to go underwater. Around it the room was mostly a living area with a small kitchen at the back. In the room on the main sofa sat a adult female version of the young girl from before but with longer black hair and was completely covered in dark teal scales, she had her tail curled around her slightly enlarged tummy. She was cuddled by a slightly larger male of the species with brown hair and dark yellow scales, both were in black swimming cloths. They were looking through a series of homes that were for sale.<p>

"How about this one?" He asked as he looked over the information of the place.

"Little too far out for Terri to get to school." The female replied after looking it over. There was then a quick buzz.

"And speaking of her." The male sadly spoke. "I'll go see her."

"Jack." The female begged to him as he got up. "I don't know how much longer I can cope." She tearfully told him.

"I know my dear May." He calmly told her and gave a quick kiss to her forehead. "I will try again, but I don't know what we really can do." He then wondered around to the opening and climbed down and dived under the water. Leaving May alone and she gently rubbed her tummy.

Jack swam down a little into a corridor that went from the shaft up to where he came from and straight towards a front door, next to the shaft was a pair of doors and also a pair down the corridor. He swam down to the door on the left of the corridor and knocked. "Terri, can I come in?" He called out.

On the other side of the door was a decent sized room with a bed at the far end from the door and down the side walls was shelves containing several odds and ends and some holo images showing a younger Terri often with a young looking version of Sophie. On the bed Terri was curled up with her back to the door. "Yea you can." She called back sounding depressed.

The door slid open a couple of seconds later letting Jack swim into the dimly lit room. "You feel like talking today? He softly asked her.

"I'm fine." She replied in a slightly board moan having been constantly asked the same sort of question for weeks.

"Look, we both know you are not." Jack calmly told her. "You can't just spend your entire days hiding away wherever you go. And your mother is feeling rather down because of how you are, so can you please just try and work with us and help you." He begged.

"It won't bring her back." Terri was getting more upset. "Just leave me be."

Jack waited a couple of moments before turning around and swimming out the door. "Just don't forget there are people who care for you too." He sighed before pressing a button to close the door. He then waited outside for a moment before speaking again. "I am not asking you to forget, but to life the life she would have wanted you to have." He then waited another moment before swimming off to return to the upper level.

"How is she tonight?" May asked looking round as he climbed out the water and got a towel to dry off.

"Same." He sighed. "I don't really know what else to do."

"We just have to keep trying" She sighed as he came over and settled down with her. "We just have to be ready for when she wants us."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry." Rachel repeated again to Sophie as they came out of the toilets having got her hand wrapped up in paper towels.<p>

"You don't need to keep saying that." Sophie calmly told her. "It was quite a striking question and something that you wouldn't normally get asked at your age."

"Still I ruined your..." She started to reply before outside a glass door onto a balcony she spotted something there on it.

"Still don't beat yourself up over it." Sophie cheerfully reassured her before realising Rachel had stopped a few moments before, standing by the door a few feet behind, Sophie quickly went up to see what she was looking at. "What is it?" She then asked looking out into the dimly lit balcony around the back of the building.

Rachel looked carefully into the dark outside, pressing her face to the glass of the door and covering around the side so she could look outside clearly. It took a few moments for her vision to adjust to seeing in low light but she was able to work out what it was. "There is a Lurden out there." She whispered. It was just quietly walking around the far end in circles.

"Here?" Sophie whispered back concerned. "With a lot of the public service staff here it can't be a coincidence given why they came to earth." She was not settled.

"I know, but why show up here?" Rachel asked openly before pausing a moment. "I'm going after it, pass me the heart and call the others."

Sophie reached into a pocket of her uniform and took out the heart and passed it to Rachel who quickly put it on over her neck. "You going to be all right out there yourself?" She then asked while accessing the lock on the door.

"It shouldn't take Emma long to reach me." Rachel told her as she tried to keep her breathing calm. "And Amy has her board so I won't be alone for long." Then a quick quiet buzz sounded as the door unlocked.

"Just be careful." Sophie told her while quickly giving her a cuddle.

"I will mum." She replied with a cuddle back. "I'll try to be fast." She then took a deep breath and opened the door.

Almost immediately the Lurden turned around to see Rachel wondering out a little uneasy still on her boots. It gave a intimidating growl at her.

"Don't move." Rachel calmly told it as she slowly edged towards it. "Let's get you back home." She offered her good hand out to it.

There was a moment of silence before the Lurden gave a roar then turned around and gave a powerful leap off the building, crossing the road below and landed on the roof of the opposite building. Rachel moved over to the edge of the balcony as quickly as she could without falling. She looked at the gap of the 2 lane road below before over the other side where the Lurden was looking around on it, there was no other building close by and it was still a fair distance to drop to the ground.

"Going to need my wings." She muttered to herself while grabbing the heart and quickly glanced around to see there was no-one else around apart from Sophie that could see her. The glow on the heart got a little brighter. "Guardian unite." Rachel commanded to it. There was then a moment the glow intensified before suddenly returning to normal.

Rachel stood there a moment and quickly looked over herself. "Not now." She panicked a little giving it a shake. "Guardian unite." She repeated to it but to no avail. She sighed a little frustrated before looking over the side again and then at the Lurden which was just standing on the other roof before looking down again. "Oh I am going to regret this." She nervously told herself while climbing over the rails of the balcony. She looked down once more having gotten over the rail, holding onto the rail tightly and just keeping balance on the narrow ledge on the side she was now on. She flicked her head up trying to calm herself, it was a good 3 or 4 floors to fall with no wings to let her fly.

Carefully she extended her injured hand out before and focused her mind, then before her feet formed a transparent red disk. She looked at it before slowly moving 1 foot at a time to stand on it. She kept her hand that she had used to create it as still as she could, she kept her other hand on the rail until she was certain that the shield disk she had created was holding her. She slowly let go and kept that hand extended behind her while cautiously stepping to the edge of her disk, but as she approached it, it extended before her a bit and behind her it shrank, she kept carefully moving towards the building the Lurden was on, keeping her mind focused on maintaining the creation of her shield and trying her best to ignore the stinging pain on her hand and the cold of the wintery night.

* * *

><p>Over at Amy and Janet's there was an uneasy tension in the air, Janet had retreated into her room while Amy and Emma were tidying up with both animals sitting out of the way. Both girls had nearly gotten the place clean.<p>

"What are we going to do?" Emma asked. "Whatever is going on is not helping your sister."

"As soon as we are rested I have it in mind to go to Kandrakar and knock some answers out of them." Amy punched her fist into her other hand.

"Bit too soon to know if it is their fault isn't it?" Emma commented collapsing into a chair.

"And?" Amy asked a little annoyed sitting down next to her grabbing a holo tile and turning on a screen and looking through the TV guide. "Even if they are not responsible, why are they letting something like this happen to my sister? And what is with those symbols?"

Well didn't you say something about one of the symbols she has drawn looked familiar?" Emma asked.

"You did too." Amy pointed out. "But as to where from, I can't remember, but Oracle should be aware of it so we can get answers from her. And failing that the new Overseer. Ok change of plans we go now."

Emma sighed a little. "Well given that Rachel is unavailable it only leaves Janet to get us there, and I don't think she will come until she is settled down."

"I know." Amy sighed back as she calmed down and then got up. "I'll go and try to settle her." She then wondered to the back of the living area where there was some dividers set up with some curtains to serve a doors, she pushed one of them out of her way as she made her way into a small area with a large wooden wardrobe and a bunk bed. Curled up at the far end on the floor next to the window Janet was still looking unsettled. "Hey." She said softly as she approached and squatted down next to her.

Janet glanced over at her sister who gave a smile back. "It doesn't make sense." She looked back away burying her head between her arms and knees. "Understanding animals when they speak is one thing, but hearing stuff when the only animals around were not making any noise...It's just...I don't know what to think." A tear ran down her cheek.

Amy sighed a little bit before sitting down next to Janet. "I'm not going to pretend I know what you are going through." She softly told her. "But I don't want you to go through it alone." She rested her head on Janet's shoulder. "I don't want to see you sad again."

Janet looked up a little to see her little sister. She smiled a little before putting a arm around her. "There is that kind little sister from years ago." She sounded a bit more cheerful as she rested her head against Amy's. "What did happen when you went through your powers developing? You never have fully told me."

Amy sighed again as she thought though what had happened. "It is hard to say...There was the dream with my dragon and symbol, like...Something so soothing, it was almost like it was too peaceful to be real...Yet it felt right. Then at the school...When Holly went wild, I just wanted to stop her doing something she would never forgive herself for doing...Then when it happened, I was preparing to receive a hit from her, then...There was this strange energy throughout my body...And it just acted on its own, creating the illusions I can do...I didn't know how I did them, but at that something was calling to me."

"And it lead you to what you have become." Janet finished off. "But why me?...And what is it about?"

Amy took a deep breath as she thought. "I wish I knew, and I wish that I could turn back time so you would have been left out of this. But..."

"But I would still be the big sister and have followed you." Janet interrupted with a little more cheer, leading Amy to smile a bit too.

"We will work out what is going on." Amy told her firmly. "And I am here for you." Janet cuddled her more and smiled.

The pair sat there for a few moments before then the peace was then broken by Emma charging into the small room.

"We got a problem." She called at them.

"What's going on?" Amy asked as she got up, followed by her sister.

"There is another Lurden running free, and Rachel is going after it." Emma was trying to catch her breath still.

"How do you know this?" Amy asked her.

"Sophie called." Emma replied. "And for some reason Rachel hasn't transformed and she is crossing buildings without her wings."

"What?!" Amy then exclaimed with Janet.

"Of all the times for that thing not to work." Amy muttered as she past Emma and started getting her coat and boots on.

"We don't know if it is the heart" Emma called out as she came across and started getting ready.

"But if it is she will need the help right?" Janet nervously asked as she started to get herself ready. "Why else would Sophie call us."

"Sis, you going to be all right coming?" Amy then asked.

Janet stood there for a moment and took some deep breaths. "Yea, I will be."

"Well then we better not leave her alone for too long then." Amy nodded.

"Raven, come!" Emma called as Amy opened the door to the outside as Janet grabbed a backpack and slung it on.

"Coming." The mysterious voice ringed in Janet's head while to everyone else a quick call from Raven was heard. She took another couple of breaths to push it aside before following the others outside.

"So where are we aiming for?" Amy asked as she activated her board.

"The theatre by the city hall." Amy replied as she stretched her wings out. "Meet you there."

"Got it, come on sis lets go." Amy replied as Janet climbed onto the back of the board and held onto Amy while Emma and Raven flew up into the air and they all set off towards the city.


	9. Chapter 9: The Chase

**Chapter 9: The Chase**

* * *

><p>Rachel kept creeping across the gap between buildings on her created shield. After several minutes she finally felt her boot touch the stone of the raised edge of the building she was aiming at, she then quickly moved off her shield and stumbled onto the ledge and then fell onto the flat snow covered roof below it. She quickly got up onto her knees, her skin being burned by the cold air and the snow. She gritted her teeth from the pain as she slowly stood up and looked around the roof top, around it was roads below and building that were taller over those roads, as for the roof itself it was flat with a raised ledge around it and in the far corner was a little tower with a door on it slightly ajar. As she looked around the dimly lit area she wasn't able to see the Lurden around but it's footprints in the snow was a different matter, she slowly shivered her way to the door where they lead, with each step she struggled as the cold was digging away right in the depths of her body. She stumbled in through the open door and collapsed inside against the wall as she pulled the door to, starting to feel some warmer air from below as she dropped down and sat at the top of some stairs as she tried to use a bit of her own power to increase the temperature around her.<p>

She remained against the wall trying to get her breath while removing the wrappings on her hand from earlier, now it was wet from the melted snow on it and her other hand and patches of exposed skin were suffering the same effect. She took a moment to create a small fireball in one of her hands to help light the dark area and warm herself up. It was in those moments she was resting she heard some noise coming from below, she extinguished the fireball so the roar of its burning wasn't drowning out the sound. She slowly got up and made her way down the stairs towards the sound which was coming from behind another door. She took a deep breath and braced herself before opening the door.

As she came though into a field of light and loud sound, music. She was a little disorientated by the lights having come in from a dark area. Once she had her vision back having adjusted to the light, she looked around, she was on a gantry with rails supporting spot lights that were changing colours along with some hanging curtains and more gantries. She looked over the edge at what was going on below, seeing a stage with a large group of about a dozen people on it of different species, genders and appearances. They were all moving around in a way that was hard to tell from above, but given the music playing it was safe to assume it was dancing. She didn't recognise the music they were dancing to but it was loud with a strong beat.

The music came to a sudden loud end leaving the group below staying still for a moment. By now Rachel had worked out where she was, having not given it much thought of it when she left to find the Lurden, it was the theatre, tho she had never seen the stage from this angle, and going by the lack of any applause this must have been a rehearsal. She remained quietly watching from above in the shadows as much as she could as everyone talked in small groups before slowly they wondered off the stage till only one person remained.

From what little Rachel could see it appeared to be a human female with short-ish dark pink hair, tho she wasn't able to clearly see what she was wearing, beyond some sort of light blue tight trousers or leggings, a loose fitting white sleeveless hoodie and white trainers. She wondered back onto the stage carrying a holo tile displaying a recording of the group's routine.

"I'm out of time with the flip." She sighed as she finished watching. "Come on Heather you can do this." She changed the display to some controls before setting the tile aside on the stage and she quickly moved to her spot on the stage and got ready as a time delay on the music ran down and then after a few seconds it started up the same tune from the beginning and she started to practice alone.

For Rachel above she just remained silent watching, the area above the stage was warm from the lights and heating panels up there so she has just taken the chance to warm up properly as she followed what she could see below, forgetting about what brought her inside till in the edge of her vision something moved. She looked around and on another part of the gantry the Lurden stood there looking at her.

She slowly turned to face it. It didn't seem bothered by the loud music nor the flashing lights, something was off about this one's behaviour, it was nothing like the archives say they behave as. She slowly edged towards it, keeping one hand on the side rail of the gantry and offering the other to the creature to show she was no threat to it. She would also keep glancing below to keep track on the girl to make certain she was going to remain safe, and with the music going it reassured Rachel a little for along as it played there was a good chance she would remain dancing.

As she got near the Lurden it sniffed away at her hand, before it then gave a quick roar that was mostly drowned out by the music before leaping over Rachel and landing on the gantry behind her making it shake as it landed throwing Rachel off balance and she was thrown mostly over the rail, holding onto it as her head was flipped mostly downwards and her feet caught on the rail the other side, as she pulled herself back up the heart slipped down over her head, she quickly leg go with one hand and swung it round grabbing onto the cord it was attached to just in time before it would have gone on a fast trip down to the stage below. She sighed as she caught her breath.

"Should have I waited for the others?" She asked it as she got herself upright and on her feet. She then looked round at the Lurden which again was standing there before it turned around and started to move towards the door that lead to the way up to the roof. "Hold on!" Rachel called out, drowned out by the music. She turned to start moving after it only for then something to strike her in the back, a sharp pain shot through her body as it then seemed to stop moving and the world went dark, she fell, dropping onto the gantry unconscious, her hand lost grip on the heart as the arm that caught it drops over the edge and the heart fell to the stage.

"Well, well, well." A female chuckled as from the shadows behind Rachel a figure emerged in a black hooded cloak. "You really should have come transformed little girl." She walked up over Rachel's body and rolled her over carefully to check her front over and started looking over her body. "Where is it?" She asked a little surprised by not finding what she was seeking.

Below Heather's music stopped and she stood in her end pose for a couple of moments as she caught her breath. She stretched a little once she was settled a bit and turned to go over to the holo tile, that was when she spotted something in the corner of her eye, she looked round and lying towards the back of the stage the heart was resting there.

"What is that?" She quietly asked herself as she made her way over. "Now who dropped you?" She asked as she squatted down next to it and looked it over.

As she looked at it she found the glow on it hypnotising to her, she wasn't able to take her eyes off. Everything else seemed to black out leaving only this item that was before her, like it was calling her. Her eyes got wider as she slowly reached her right hand out to it, slowly she moved her hand closer, till eventually it was right over the glowing orb of light and she closed her hand over it.

It was then everything changed, suddenly a sharp energy surged through her body, she came out of what had lured her in and as she tried to let go of the heart, she found something was keeping her hand stuck to it and she was unable to lift it up either. Rays of bright light seeped through the gaps between her fingers. "What the?" She asked in a bit of a panic.

Above the woman was checking franticly over Rachel's body when then suddenly a loud scream of pain was heard, she quickly got up and looked over the edge below.

Heather was crying out, the heart has gotten brighter and where she was touching it felt like it was being burned as the energy from it increased, a pink energy appeared around her body as the pain become more intense. She pushed though the pain to grab her wrist with her free hand and tried to pull harder to let go of the object she was touching, but she wouldn't budge as the pain got more intense, her entire body felt like it was on fire as she then screamed out louder, not able to notice her green eyes flash pink a moment and just in from her left shoulder a pink orb appeared to glow through her hoodie and the matching blue low cut t-shirt she had for her trousers, on the orb was a darker pink mark, the mark of the quintessence symbol.

Above the women looked on a little surprised by the sight she was seeing. She glanced at the unconscious Rachel. "Seems you got lucky. But this won't change what comes next" She told her before walking off towards a far corner, heading to get a way down without the person below seeing her.

* * *

><p><strong>Kandrakar<strong>

Within the towering clean stone fortress of Kandrakar in the clouds of another place people wondered around in the corridors. Then within a large central chamber that had tiered benches around the side, a large pair of wooden doors at one end and a small door at the other, a young-ish woman with reasonable length red hair in a light blue gown was talking with a young male with short dark blond hair and hazel eyes in darkish blue shirt and trousers stood listening to her in the empty room.

"So in all Ryan have the stuff ready for when she comes." She instructed.

"Understood Oracle." He replied as he bowed his head. "I will gather all the needed items from the chamber."

As he made his way towards the large doors the small door at the other end swung open and an female in the same light blue gown with a more feline face charged in looking very distressed. "Oracle!" She yelled out. "There is something going on with the aurameres!"

"What?" The Oracle asked surprised before moving after the new arrival to see what she was on about, before a sudden pain hit her. She dropped to her knees, resting against the floor as throughout her body it felt like something was ripping right through it, tearing it apart. She lifted a hand and looked at it. It was flickering between being pink flesh and a ghostly transparent blue.

"Oracle." Ryan called across having looked around to see what the commotion was about. He ran across the chamber to her and knelt down beside her and saw what was happening to her hand.

"Luba, check on her." She weakly instructed. He quickly got up and ran over to the other woman who was suffering the same way however she was lying on the floor unconscious.

"We need help in here!" He yelled out to which a couple of people in silver armour charged into the room from the large doors. "Get the Oracle and Luba somewhere to rest." He instructed as he then ran to the small door that Luba had arrived through as the guards did as they were instructed to do.

Within a small chamber that was through the door there was only a stone table in the middle with five orbs hovering above it. Four of them floated high up circling around with three in close formation and one away from them, a red one with the fire mark, blue with the water mark, green with the earth mark and gray with the air mark. Down near the table, centred over it a pink one with the quintessence mark was sparking, sending the sparks across the chamber leaving him to duck and side step a few times to dodge and the orb increased the sparking and started to look like something was attempting to stretch it as parts would extend and shrink rapidly.

Ryan stood there looking on with complete shock on his face, he didn't know what to do as he watching the reaction for the pink orb kept getting more reactive as it sped up and glowed brighter causing him to shield his eyes. Then even with that the brightness got more and more intense until there was a pulse that discharged from it, that rocked through the fortress and knocked everyone over.

A few moments later Ryan slowly began to move again, having been so close to the source of the blast he had been thrown backwards a bit and landed on his back. He grunted and moaned a little from the pain he felt in his body as he sat up, then rolling sideways a little he got to his feet. As he quickly checked over himself something in the corner of his eye, or rather the lack of something drew his attention. Looking back over where the aurameres had been he could only see the four orbs still floating high up in the circling formation that they were in, however the pink one that had been down low was missing. His jaw dropped as he quickly scanned around the room to see if it was just elsewhere in the chamber, however there was no sign of it.

"What is going on?" A male voice demanded behind Ryan.

Ryan turned around to find behind him stood a tall, blue skinned person in the light blue robes there. "Overseer." Ryan addressed him. "I am not certain but it appears the quintessence auramere is missing." He then turned to look over the room again.

"Really?" The overseer asked, sounding almost like he wasn't surprised at what happened. "And what happened with the Oracle and Luba?"

"I am not certain." Ryan replied as he kept looking over the chamber. "The Oracle just collapsed before Luba informed something was going on and she passed out. I came here and saw...Well I don't exactly know what happened but one moment the quintessence auramere was there then it disappeared."

The overseer was silent a moment before he spoke again. "Ryan, go check on everyone else who is bonded to the magic of this place. I will begin looking into what happened here."

"Yes overseer." Ryan nodded as he turned around and moved off out of the chamber as quickly as he could leaving the overseer to stand in the chamber alone.

"What are you going to do now. Girls?" He said with a little smile. "However..." He looked back over the remaining aurameres. "Why only 1"

* * *

><p><strong>Heatherfield, Earth<strong>

A few moments earlier on earth, Emma, Amy and Janet had arrived round the back of the theatre building. Once off her board Amy looked up and held and hand out and focused on the ladder of the escape path from the roof that was retracted. A few moments and a heard strain for her later then dropped down. Emma and Raven flew down from above and landed next to the sisters.

"It's on the roof but no sign of Rachel." She told them.

"That doesn't seem right." Janet pondered. "You said that Sophie told you she was crossing, so if she failed or turned back we would know about that."

"It means she is inside, but that brings the matter of why is she in and it's out." Amy added on.

Suddenly both Amy and Emma glanced around sensing something but couldn't put to what. They both stood there a little off put with what they felt, then suddenly something struck them from within. Like those in Kandrakar felt they too felt like they were being torn apart, both collapsing to the ground, moaning in pain.

"What is going on?" Janet panicked as she looked around as then Raven fell to the ground, cushioned by the snow, crying out in pain. Janet stood there looking over the trio, completely unsettled by what she was seeing them go through, then within her, she felt something being pulled, she dropped to her knees, holding her hands over where her heart was, trying to catch her breath as she struggled through the pain, tho it was not as intense as what the others were experiencing.

After about half a minute later the effects on the four stopped and the pain disappeared. Catching their breath they slowly got themselves back to their feet.

"What was that?" Amy asked as she rested against the wall.

"I don't know." Emma replied as she picked Raven up. "But whatever it was it got Raven too."

"And me." Janet informed them rather unsettled. Due to being effected later than the others they hadn't seen her been effected.

"This is getting more serious." Amy replied. "Whatever is going on we need answers, and given we are not hearing general panic there is good chance it was aimed at magical creatures like us."

"You both then go inside and find Rachel." Janet told them as she pulled herself together, the effect she just experienced, tearing her mind apart in fear of what was happening with her. She moved as quickly as she opened up her bag and took her thick coat off and started to put the armour that was in the bag on. "I'll hold the Lurden as long as I can so you can transform."

"I don't need to transform, took on a group of them earlier without problem." Amy stubbornly replied.

"And given what just happened I want you to be safer than just as you are." Janet snapped at her.

The pair of them just stared at each other before Amy sighed and grabbed the ladder and moved a couple of rungs up. "Fine, just don't complain when you get hurt."

"I wasn't planning to." Janet replied waiting for Amy to keep moving up before she followed.

"Well she didn't say anything about you coming inside." Emma quietly spoke to Raven who now was perched on one of her hands while being stroked by the other, trying to not to be dragged into the argument between the sisters. "Give her some support I'll return as soon as possible." With that Raven gave a quiet call back to her before taking off with Emma following behind as Amy reached the top.

The Lurden roared as it looked around the roof hearing the sound of snow being compressed by Amy's boots, it then started to charge towards he, while she focused and made a wall appear before her. The creature skidded to a stop as then the wall bent around it forming a small chamber. It looked around confused to what had happened, only for some falling snow to pass through the walls. It then gave another roar as it swung a claw around, passing through the wall in the direction Amy had been in.

"Missed me!" Amy called out behind it as she and Emma waved a little as the stood by the door. The Lurden prepared to charge at them only for at the moment it started to move Raven swooped before it, making it loose some balance as it reacted to the near miss while something swung past it's legs tripping it over.

"Sorry but you got me." Janet ordered to it as she ran round to be between it and the others. Raven flew next to her ready and gave an little intimidating cry.

* * *

><p>Inside a few moments before as the effects his the girls outside and those in Kandrakar, Heather was still struggling through the pain surging through her body as the light from the heart got brighter. If she looked around she would have seen a pair of ghostly guardian wings stretch out from her back, before then the light got so intense that despite having her hand over the heart the whole room of the theatre was filled with the light. Then as the shockwave happened in Kandrakar the same happened from the heart, a sudden wave of energy discharged from it, releasing whatever was forcing Heather's hand to hold on to it. She was then thrown across the stage, landing just by the edge of its front. She lay there unconscious.<p>

The mysterious woman who had been up with Rachel walked onto the stage from the back far side from where Heather lay. She pulled her hood down letting her red hair fall over her shoulders. Her face was almost exactly the same as the oracle's, just with a slightly darker skin tone.

"Why did it react to you?" She asked as she reached Heather and knelt down beside her, looking over her, then briefly at the heart and then back to Heather. "What makes you special that it did that?" She was then distracted hearing the sound of something moving above, a door. She looked back at the heart and then Heather again before picking the girl up. "This may not have been the plan, but you will be useful." There was then a flash of green as she teleported away.

"Rachel!" Amy's voice came through the room.

"You really think calling out to her is going to work in a place we are effectively breaking into?" Amy's whisper echoed through the stairwell they were coming down from the roof.

On the gantry Rachel started to grunt and moan as she came round. She rubbed her head before grabbing onto a rail and pulled herself to sit up. "What happened?" She grumbled out as she looked around, and quickly grabbed tighter to the rail having forgotten she was up high. She then calmed herself a moment before starting to pull herself back up onto her feet. She was a little uneasy a moment as she got her balance back before hearing some familiar voices.

"There you are." Amy called out as she quickly crossed the gantry and placed an arm around Rachel. "What happened to you?" She asked as she spotted Rachel wasn't looking 100%.

"Not certain." Rachel replied. "Think something got me in the back."

"You let a Lurden get a cheap shot on you?"Amy asked a little surprised.

"No, it wasn't the Lurden." Rachel told her as she slowly ran through what happened in her mind. "I had the Lurden before me, and as I was trying to get to it, but then that was when something struck me from behind and then, nothing."

"You didn't see anyone or anything else?" Amy then asked.

"What's going on?" Emma asked as she arrived.

"She got a cheap shot in the back." Amy told her.

"Ouch." Emma replied. "Still come one Rach, we need to get back to help Janet, she is on the roof fighting that thing, so transform us and lets go."

"Right, if it works now." Rachel weakly commented as she reached for where it would be if she was wearing it. Then she panicked a little. "Where is it!?"

"Where is what?" Emma asked.

"The heart, I don't have it." Rachel replied as she patted around her body trying to find it.

"WHAT!?" Both Amy and Emma called out in shock.

"How did you do that?" Amy then asked as she started to glance around the area.

"I must have dropped it when I was hit." Rachel replied as she started to walk along the gantry while Amy sighed as she started to wonder the other way.

"Hey, it hasn't gone that far." Emma called. "It is down there." She pointed down to the stage where it was resting.

Both girls came back to her and looked down over the edge and gave a sigh seeing it was far below.

"Right, both of you go help Janet, I'll head down and get it." Rachel said as she sighed and turned to find a way down having seen there as there was no room for Emma to fly around.

"Hang on." Amy called to her while Emma was starting to make her way back to the stairs to the roof, remembering something that Undia had told her. "You can call it back to you."

"I/She can?" Both Rachel and Emma asked together rather surprised by what Amy just told them.

"Yea, Undia told me about several things the holder of the heart can do." Amy quickly told them. "And one of them is being able to recall it if it is separated."

Emma and Rachel just looked at each other before Emma shrugged. "Worth a try." She commented.

"Ok, so umm." Rachel tried to think what to do, before aiming a open hand towards the heart, focusing on it and what she wanted it to do. "Heart, return to me." She commanded to it.

Emma and Amy watched for a moment before peering over the edge and saw the heart was still in the same place and no signs of it doing anything.

"It not working." Rachel sighed as she started a disappointed walk to where she could get down. "Sometimes I wonder why Holly gave it to me to keep rather then pass it to one of you as it doesn't seem to want me."

Emma was about to start after Rachel when Amy put her hand on her shoulder and shook her head, signalling to her that they needed to leave a bit of space to Rachel.

* * *

><p>A few moments later after having made her way down a set of stairs Rachel walked out on the stage. She looked at all the seats that faced it and though of the group she had seen when she arrived there and how strong they must be to obviously perform before a packed room. She made her way over to the heart, then as she was just about to touch it she paused, something was off, she glanced around spotting the holo tile from the girl that remained just before she was hit. Why was her holo tile lying around when she wasn't around, and shouldn't have someone like that noticed the heart lying on the stage. Rachel picked up the heart and went over to the holo tile and grabbed that, she looked at the owners ID, confirming it belonged to the girl she had seen.<p>

"Hurry up!" Amy called from above.

"Amy!" Emma scolded her for calling.

Rachel stood there for a moment before making her move to the stairs back up as she called out. "I'm coming!"


	10. Chapter 10: Capturing

**Chapter 10: Capturing**

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><p>On the roof Janet slid backwards over the snow, losing her staff as it dug in. She rolled over to the side as the Lurden leaped at her, the impact of its slam on the snow threw a dusty slow cloud up. Raven then swooped down through the snow and narrowly missed scratching the head of the Lurden as it flew just above its head. Then as the snow cloud covering it cleared up, Janet was up and charged straight at it, attempting to tackle it. The Lurden reached out, grabbing over her face at it lifted her up and roared.<p>

A screech came out from Raven as it swooped back in, although Janet just heard "Brace." She didn't want to give thought to the voices again as she just did what it said and prepared herself. However what happened next probably wasn't what she was expecting as she was then thrown down into the snow and held there with the hand still holding onto her as the Lurden then swung its other hand and knocked Raven down into the snow.

As Janet struggled against the stronger creature she rummaged one of her hands around in the snow trying to find her staff, before finally feeling something metal just at the tip of her reach but she was only just able to touch it and couldn't get a grip.

Suddenly the muffled sounds of snow being squashed was drowned out by a high-pitched screech. The Lurden released her and it cowered down covering it's ears, to which then Janet rolled aside and did the same. A few moments later the screech stopped as Janet quickly rolled over again and scrambled to where she felt something in the snow and pulled out her staff.

"Sis!" Amy's voice called out as she ran past the disorientated Lurden and helped her up. "You good?"

"Thought you didn't want me to complain if I was hurt?" She teased back to which Amy gave her a playful push and stuck her purple tongue out a little.

"Come on, come on." Rachel begged to the heart as she shivered a little in the doorway as Emma helped Raven out of the snow and dusted him off.

"How we doing with it Rach?" Emma then asked as Raven took off and flew around the recovered Lurden to distract it.

"I'm trying." Rachel replied as she then shook the heart around before the glow form the orb in the middle on it got brighter. "Got it." She then called out relieved.

"Well, do it!" Amy called across.

"Give her a moment." Emma called back as she stretched her wings and then gave a hard flap blowing up another cloud of show dust over the Lurden.

"Please don't change your mind now." Rachel quietly begged to the heart as she held both hands over it. She then took a deep breath to calm herself a little before she called out. "Guardians unite."

There was then a quick unseen force that emanated from the heart that pushed against the Lurden, Raven and Janet, with all three of them bracing themselves against the force as Rachel removed her hands from the heart as three small orbs in different colours: red, green and grey with the matching elemental symbol on it flew out of the heart. Each then flew to their partnered girl and circled them a few times till all three were in position before then the orb flew into each and quickly grew in size and consumed each of the girls, leaving their silhouette curled up inside before then each orb flashed brighter for a moment as each of them stretched out as they forced the orbs they were in apart, hovering in the air having finished their transformation.

"Now calm down and we can take you home." Emma softly spoke to the Lurden.

"Seriously?" Amy asked rather shocked as she flew over to Emma. "We transform and you go like that."

"Now it knows what it is dealing with it may just surrender." Emma turned around to explain.

Rachel sighed as she just flew over to land next to Janet as they watched the other pair argue a little while Raven landed on Janet's head.

"Umm, sis?" Janet called out with Rachel just putting her arm out before her and shaking her head as the Lurden made its way slowly at the arguing girls.

"Give them a moment." Rachel told her.

"What?" Janet asked rather surprised as the creature got closer to them.

"They know what they are doing." Rachel replied as she then hid a hand behind her so the Lurden couldn't see a fireball form it.

Janet just looked at Rachel confused as she glanced back at Amy and Emma and then spotted each of them had something going on out of sight of the Lurden. Amy had a green aura over her hand that was away from the Lurden while Emma had a small tornado in her hidden hand.

"As much as I find their friendship a very strange one, it allows some effective results." Rachel giggled as she whispered to Janet.

"Lived with it for years so I don't really notice anymore." Janet quietly replied as she lowered her staff but keeping positioned so she can use it quickly.

The argument from Emma and Amy went on for a few more moments as the Lurden got right up next to them and gave a loud roar at them.

"Do you mind?" Amy angrily snapped at it as she turned her head to face it. "We are in the middle of something."

The Lurden looked over the pair again a little confused before roaring again and raising both its arms in preparation to hit them both.

"Wrong choice." Amy then smirked a little as then she and Emma turned fast sending a tornado that whipped out around the Lurden and Amy had some leaves separate from her vines and they flew around whacking into the creature.

"Go now." Rachel ordered to Janet and Raven as she brought out her had that had the fireball and threw it at the Lurden while Raven took off and flew after the fireball that hit the Lurden straight on as he then flew over it scratching with its talons while Janet charged forwards with her staff out to one side, passing Amy and Emma as they stopped their attacks letting her slide the staff between the Lurdens legs so when it started to try and moving after it recovered from what had happened before it tripped over the staff and fell to the ground, then it slowly began to try to get up.

"Not so fast." Amy giggled as she had some of her vines extend and tie up its arms, legs and around its mouth so it wasn't able to bite her vines to get free. She then turned to look to the others. "So...Someone want to open a fold to Meridian so we can get this thing home."

Rachel just gave Janet a little push to tell her to open the fold.

"Why me?" Janet then quickly turned to ask Rachel.

Rachel shrugged a moment before answering. "It makes sense to me as you can open folds when you want with the tooth, I can't guarantee the heart will do it, or if it does open one it will be where we want to go. Remember last time?"

"Yea." Janet replied back to her a little embarrassed. "It sending us to the middle of the Antarctic in its winter time really wasn't helpful." She then just sighed before looking over to Amy. "Where about do you want it sent on Meridian?"

Amy opened her mouth to reply but then realised something as she looked a little embarrassed herself. "I don't actually know, I never asked Undia where about the ones we rounded up were sent." There was a look of disbelief across the other three girls as they all just looked at Amy. "What?" She then asked. "Can't expect me to think of everything."

There was the sound of sighs from the others as they paced a little and the sound of frustration came a bit too. Then after a few moments a familiar voice was heard saying "Just as well I kept watch then isn't it?"

"You really have to make an entry don't you?." Amy sighed as she turned around to see Undia in the shadows leaning back against the wall of the entrance to the stairs down.

"Well you did raise the point I wanted to talk with you about." She replied as she moved out of the shadows from where she had been. "As I hadn't said where about to send them back home." She held her arm out as she spoke in the strange language as her markings lit up as a fold opened next to Amy's wrapped up Lurden.

"Still thank you for arriving." Rachel sighed to her a little relieved. "Otherwise we would have been stuck with this one."

"I don't know." Emma chuckled a little as she squatted down next to it and gently stroked it's head. "I think it would make a good pet."

"You are kidding right?" Undia asked her a bit shocked while Raven landing next to Emma and gently rubbed his head against her leg. "Those things are dangerous."

"So?" Emma replied as she gave Raven a little stroke. "I think it would make a good pet once trained right."

"This from the girl who thinks a Tralodite is cute and can be kept as a pet." Janet sighed as she told Undia.

"A Tralodite?" She replied a little surprised. "THE most dangerous creature alive? She has to be crazy to what one as a pet."

"And welcome to our world." Rachel giggled a little, having created a large fire ring around her to keep warm while Amy lifted up the Lurden and sent it through as Emma showed her dissatisfaction with it being sent away. "You know we can't keep every creature we encounter, plus where are you going to keep them? Your parents will notice."

"The Tralodite is a misunderstood creature. "Emma sulked as she picked Raven up. "All it wants is a friend, it just doesn't know how to make them."

"It is a 25 foot high beast that is capable of opening up the hardest tanks there is with little effort." Amy yelled at her. "Even I am not stupid enough to actually fight that thing." A comment that made everyone just look at her a little awkwardly. "Ok, fine." She then admitted. "I did try to hit that one that was destroying the fortress that held the massive gem that can open folds capable of moving planets on Retika. But it had it coming after it pushed me into the sea."

"You just flew too close to its tails as it was smashing the place." Janet face palmed herself in embarrassment. "But getting to a more important point, is there any more around?" She held her hand up to Amy to stop her replying as she asked Undia.

"I believe it to be the last one." She replied as Amy's vines came back out of the fold and it closed before Undia opened another. "I need to report to the council, catch you all later." She smiled as she went through the fold and it closed behind her.

"Come on, let's move, it is getting late." Rachel ordered as she flew up into the air and down the building followed by Amy and Raven while Emma grabbed Janet with her feet and carried her down before landing in the ally they had gone to before climbing up. The heart then appeared in Rachel's hand before the three of them all glowed for a few moments in their elemental colour before returning to normal, leaving Rachel to shiver as the cold hit her, no longer having her full power to keep herself warm.

"Take it." Amy told her as she held her coat out while knocking her board to the ground before it activated and floated up a little. I can cope for the trip home."

"You certain?" Rachel asked as she took it while Amy nodded back. "Thanks, remind me later for it back." She then put it on and placed the heart in one of its pockets.

"I will head off home, don't want mum and dad back and wondering where I am." Emma told them as she stretched out her wings.

"Right, see you tomorrow then." Rachel nodded.

"Have fun." Janet smiled while Amy just gave Emma a high five and smiled.

"Will try to." She replied as she then moved out of the ally and took off followed by Raven giving a little call.

"Bye." The noise came across to Janet who winced a little unsettled once again while packing her armour away and getting her coat on. She took a moment to calm herself before getting back up.

"Ready?" Amy asked as she got on her board and the control orb formed.

"Yea." She replied after a little hesitation before getting on. "See you later Rachel."

"See you." Rachel replied to them both.

"Be safe." Amy called as she set off leaving Rachel alone.

Rachel sighed a little as she started to walk towards the street before stopping, sensing whatever was watching her again. She turned around and looked around, not seeing anything. She stood there and shivered a little, something was giving her the chills apart from the cold. She tried to keep herself calm as she slowly turned back to face the street. Then just before she was about to move she spoke out. "Who is there?" She asked as she thought she heard something moving behind her.

There was silence, which Rachel both wanted and didn't want to hear. Her heart was pounding away in her chest as then just before she decided to continue to move to the street there was the sound of footsteps in the snow behind her, something heavy. Her breathing accelerated as she looked carefully at the ground seeing a glow on the snow. She stood there terrified before slowly turning around to get a look at what was there. However the moment she had turned to face it, it reached out and hit her round the head and everything went dark to her.

"Your end of the deal is done." The unknown creature spoke deeply and with no emotion as the woman from inside walked up behind it as it picked Rachel up. "The emperor agreed to let you live free." It paused a moment before adding to its speech. "He will send a message after the abomination is delt with for arrangement of your wanted reward."

"I understand." The woman replied bowing her head in respect as she waved her hand and opened a fold. "And as promised there is your way home."

The creature nodded as it walked off into the fold having it close behind it.

"So, what now with that freak out of the way?" Another voice spoke from further back. The woman turned around to look at the girl that spoke to her coming forward dressed in black winter clothing, but she had a scorpion tail and claws poking out of her tail and gloves.

"Now, now Jessica." The woman giggled. "Don't speak ill of the condemned." As she waved a hand and on Jessica the claws and tail glowed a little and faded away and her clothing adjusted to the change. "More importantly, do they suspect?"

"They don't." Jessica replied as she stretched out a bit and felt her teeth feeling she no longer had fangs. "They only thought my days in service of someone are over having removed Demal's spell on me, they are not aware of my free allegiance to you. So I assume everything is going to plan."

"Good, can't have the surprised ruined yet to them." The woman smiled before they both flashed and teletransported into a dark domed chamber clad in dull red bricks that could be seen from what little light there was from some lamps around the place. At the sides were some alcoves with bars over them, a couple of tunnels and a throne at one end of the room. In the middle of the room was a withered up plant. "There was a little complication with the plan in hte form of an unexpected event before handing Rachel over, but it is a minor detail. So what do you think of this place?"

"Not bad." Jessica commented as she looked around as the woman watched. She then walked over to one of the alcoves spotting something inside. "What is with her?." She asked seeing Heather lying on the ground in there still unconscious.

"She is the unexpected event, but one that if played right, it should prove to be in our favour." The woman replied as she sat down. "I just need to work out what exactly to with her, because if left unchecked, she would be a threat."

Then her attention was caught by the sound of footsteps from one of the tunnels to which she and Jessica looked over to see a young girl in jeans, trainers and a dark blue tank top walk in. Her hear was short with the low light of the area making it hard to work the colour of out, same with her eyes.

"Mother." She spoke in a soft voice that was about 9 or so year-olds voice. She bowed her head before spotting Jessica. "Is she one?"

"She is Nikki." The woman replied as she offered her hand and the child walked up and got a little cuddle. "Are you ready?" She then asked as she clicked a couple of her fingers.

"I am mother." She replied. It was then Jessica was able to spot the child had some sort of dark gold device around her neck that lined up with the top of the tank top, coming down to meet it, there was also a strange circular gap in the middle of it where the base of the neck would be.

"I have brought what you wish my queen." Another female voice spoke as from one of the other tunnels a Zambalen-Human hybrid walked in. She was taller than Janet and had on a while and blue medical uniform, her eyes were completely wide given the emotionless way she walked and talked. She was carrying a small box in her hands.

The woman smiled as she went over to the new person and opened the box. Inside was cushioned in pale red and on that cushioning was five disks, each with a colour that matched one of the aurameres that had been in Kandrakar. The woman took out the blue and green disks before turning to her child that stood waiting. "Come Jessica." She then called as the woman who held the box was signalled to leave, giving a bow before closing the box and then walking off back to the tunnel she entered from. "Now then you ready?"

"I exist for this mother." Nikki replied, completely strong with what she was saying.

"I wouldn't have agreed to join you in this if I was planning on turning my back." Was Jessica's reply.

"Good." The woman replied with a dark smile and gave a quick but careful wave with one of her hands as she held one disk in each. Then on Jessica a dark mist appeared around her neck before disappearing leaving her with the same gold device on her as Nikki had. "I won't lie as say this won't hurt, as it will, but resisting it will cause more." She gave a dark smile as she placed the blue disk in Nikki's device and the green one in Jessica's .

There was a moment nothing happened as the woman sat back down before suddenly a sharp burning sensation shot through both Jessica and Nikki, both dropping to the ground as the disks glowed and a aura that matched the disk each girl wore appeared around them. For Jessica the ground stared to rise up around her and she felt like it was crushing her as it swallowed her into a dome while Nikki had water from around her and she felt like drowning. The woman smiled as she sat and watched what happened to them both while planning what to do with Heather and the other disks.

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong> So last upload for 2014, more is coming in the new year. And if you can see what is coming, well that is fine.


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